Suspected to be cultists have killed a motorcyclist and a student in the Ilesa area of Osun State.
A source privy to the incident, who pleaded anonymity, told Punch that the clash occurred on Tuesday.
He added that the student was being conveyed by the motorcyclist when the assailants attacked them and opened fire.
“There was a cult clash yesterday in Ilesa that led to two people’s deaths. One of the victims was a student, as he was wearing a sign-out shirt, while the other person was a motorcyclist. I learnt that they were attacked, shot at, and left dead on the spot by the assailants. The clash was suspected to be a retaliatory attack for a previous cult fight,” the source said.
An anti-cultism advocacy group, NaijaConfra, in a post about the incident shared on X on Tuesday, identified the student victim as Taiwo.
“The first victim was identified as Taiwo, a student killed yesterday after signing out. The second victim was confirmed to be the bike man who was carrying Taiwo before the attack. While Taiwo d!ed on the spot, the bike man reportedly crawled into the bush and later d!ed there.”
The spokesperson for the Osun State Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, who confirmed the incident noted that when the police received a report about the incident, officers from the area rushed to the scene and, upon sighting them, the suspects fled.
“Yes, the clash happened, and two people were killed. When the clash happened, on the arrival of the police, everybody took to their heels, but we are still investigating. Our intelligence personnel are on the ground, and the matter has been transferred to the anti-cultism section. I am sure that before this week ends, we will see what comes out of it,” Ojelabi said.