Suspected cultists kill father of seven

The damaged vehicle

Some cultists in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State went on the rampage again on Tuesday evening, killing a mechanic, who is also a father of seven children.

The victim, Mr. Lateef Shittu, was attacked in front of his workshop on Jones Street at about 7pm. The deceased was said to be working under a commercial bus when the hoodlums dragged him out, and smashed the windscreen of the bus.

Afterwards, he was stabbed several times and shot in the head by the hoodlums.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Lateef eventually died around 5am on Wednesday.

When our correspondent visited the street on Wednesday, many of the residents were seen in groups, discussing the incident.

Lateef's wife, Mrs. Mulikat Shittu, explained that her husband was a peaceful man and never belonged to a cult group.

"He would never fight with anyone. He was just a victim of circumstance. He had just finished taking his bath, and came outside to work on the vehicle when they attacked him. We rushed him from one hospital to another, but the doctors and nurses insisted they could not treat gun wounds. Some hospitals were demanding N200,000 as a deposit for his treatment," she said.

Lateef's eldest son, Idris Shittu, added that his father would not have died had he been promptly attended to.

"I was called around 8pm and informed about the incident. When I got to the street, I saw everyone running home. We took him to all the hospitals in the area, but they all referred us to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja. He was still gasping until around 5am. Honestly, I do not know why these hoodlums killed my father," Idris said.

One of the two men with Lateef when he was attacked, Mr. Taye Abudu, who is a welder, said he could not ascertain the number of the cultists.

He said, "Maybe I could have been killed too, because I was sleeping inside that bus. Suddenly, I was woken up by the noise of broken glasses, and I heard the men shouting 'kill anyone on sight'. I quickly hid under a seat.

"I could not count them. By the time I came out, I saw Lateef in a pool of blood. All the hospitals we rushed him to rejected him. By 5am, he eventually gave up."

A resident, who pleaded anonymity, said the area had been under the siege of cult groups for some weeks.

"It is a supremacy battle between two groups known as Skippo boys and Otto boys. Just last week, they attacked this street and killed a beggar. We want the government to improve on security in this area," he said.

At the Iponri Police Division, a police source said they had yet to receive the report of the murder.