Cultist Clash: Stray bullet kills 1 in Ilorin

By Ahmed Ajikobi
Tragedy occured in Agbo-Oba in Ilorin, Kwara State last Wednesday, when the life of a 25-year-old man simply identified as Kehinde was cut short by a stray bullet during a clash by rival cult groups in the area.
Pilot crime gathered that the victim was killed while washing his clothe in front of his house on the fateful day at about 7pm.
According to a source, the cultists, who belonged to Aiye and Eiye confraternities engaged in gun duel over alleged intimidating of a member of the former.
“Prior to the killing of Kehinde, members of the Aye cult group were at one hotel where they normally relax and entertain themselves. When they sighted a cultist who belonged to the Eiye group; they launched an attacked on him.
“In the process, his phone was seized but he eventually escaped. Thereafter, the guy re-inforced and invaded the area at night to avenge his intimidation by the rival cultists. The cultists stormed the area shooting sporadically and there was pandemonium in the area as everyone scampered for safety.
“The victim, Kehinde, who was washing his clothes in front of his house also took to his heels when he saw people running towards him but was unlucky as he was hit by stray bullet and died before help could reach him,” the source recounted.
This medium gathered that the victim was allegedly hit by a bullet fired by a vigilante in the area, who also belongs to a cult group.
The remains of the victim was said to have been evacuated by the police from ‘B’ Division Surulere, Ilorin.
Effort to get the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi to react to the development, proved abortive as calls to his mobile phone did not connect at the time of filing this report.