Yabatech Student Shot To Death By Suspected Cultist Shortly After Exams- 7 Arrested

PUNCH Metro learnt the incident occurred on Tuesday shortly after students concluded their examinations for the day.

Our correspondent gathered that the deceased was heading towards the back gate of the institution when some armed men accosted him, pulled out a gun and shot him at close range.

A student privy to the incident told PUNCH Metro that the incident threw the campus into panic as students, who witnessed the shooting, scampered for safety.

The student who did not want his name in print due to the sensitive nature of the incident said, “The student had just finished writing his exams and was heading towards the back gate when some boys approached him and shot him twice on the spot. The whole scenario happened very fast.”

Another student, who craved anonymity, said the assailants recovered a firearm from the deceased.

“The incident looked more like a cult attack because the victim seemed to have been armed before he was killed. We learnt immediately the boys shot him, they searched his bag and recovered a gun and a bullet. They also made sure he was dead before they left.”

Our correspondent gathered that a similar incident occurred on the school premises the previous week.

A source in the school linked the attack to an ongoing rivalry between cult groups on campus.

The source said, “The killing was in retaliation for a shooting that occurred last week. One suspected cult member was shot but he survived. So this looks more like a payback,” the source claimed.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Yabatech, Adekunle Adams, said the incident did not occur on the premises of the institution.

He said, “The incident occurred but not in the college. It happened at a lounge close to the college. There is no cult-related incident in the college, nothing of such.”

The Lagos State Police spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the deceased was shot by rival cult members.

He added that seven suspects had been arrested in connection with the crime, while the investigation was in progress.

He said, “On Tuesday at about 3 pm, a distress call was received at Sabo Division that a suspected cultist was allegedly shot dead by a group of suspected rival cult members in the Yaba area.

“Upon receiving the report, a patrol team was swiftly mobilised to the scene, where the deceased was found lying in a pool of his blood.

“On close observation, visible marks of violence suspected to be bullet wounds were seen on the body while four rounds of live ammunition and some charms were recovered from the deceased’s pocket at the scene. The corpse has been evacuated and deposited in the morgue for autopsy.”

The incident occurred barely 24 hours after a 16-year-old boy, identified simply as Mustapha, was killed by a stray bullet during a suspected cult clash at Oyingbo in the Ebute Metta area of the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the incident occurred during a peace walk organised by some youths in a bid to address rising cult-related violence in the community.

It was gathered that the walk had just concluded when an argument broke out among them resulting in a shootout that led to some casualties.