Two suspected cult members have been shot dead in separate incidents in the Ojo area of Lagos, residents said Monday, in what appeared to be a renewed wave of cult-related violence.
The victims, identified only as Monday and Efe, were found with gunshot wounds at different locations on Sunday, according to a community source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the incident.
“Two bodies were found in the community on Sunday with gunshot injuries,” the source said. “We later learned the killings were carried out by suspected cultists in what appeared to be a reprisal attack by rival groups. The police evacuated the bodies.”
An anti-cultism platform, Confra Naija, alleged in a post on X that one of the victims, Monday, was a former chairman of the Neo Black Movement in Alaba International Market and had been a longstanding leader of the Aye confraternity in the area.
The group said Monday had been a target for some time, noting that a close associate, also described as a former Aye leader, was killed in March 2025.
Confra Naija also alleged that the second victim, Efe, was another leader linked to the Neo Black Movement in Ojo, though he was said not to be a regular presence in the community.
According to the platform, Efe was attacked while charging his phone outside during a power outage, when suspected members of a rival group accosted and shot him.
Videos circulating online and reviewed by local media appeared to show one of the victims lying inside what looked like an electronics shop, with gunshots audible in the background. Another clip showed a man lying motionless with visible gunshot wounds.
As of Monday, the Lagos State Police Command had not officially confirmed the incident. Calls and messages to police spokesperson Abimbola Adebisi were not returned.
Cult-related violence has persisted in parts of Lagos despite efforts by security agencies to curb the clashes between rival groups.
In September 2025, similar attacks in Lakowe and Sangotedo areas left two people dead in separate incidents linked to suspected cult reprisals.
