In Ikorodu, Residents Lynch Suspected Gang Member

Four days after suspected Badoo cultists killed a couple and two of their three children in Ikorodu, Lagos, residents of the community have apprehended and lynched a suspect accused of belonging to the group.

A resident, who pleaded anonymity, said that the suspect was caught at Igbo Oluwo, brutally beaten and set ablaze by angry residents.

The latest killing of the family on Tuesday, had put the number of suspected victims of the cult to about 26 in Ikorodu, prompting the community to deploy traditionalists, who performed rituals and have vowed to bring an end to the cult.

The source said the last killing angered the residents to deal with the suspect on Friday despite appeals from the police and traditional rulers in the area that residents should not take the law into their hands.

He said, “The suspect was caught with another at Igbo-Oluwo. The second suspect ran away. The residents noticed that the two suspects rubbed their bodies with oil, a known method used by members of the dreaded Badoo cult.

“At around 6.45am, after beating the suspect brutally, they marched him to Jumofak Junction and set him ablaze.”

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Olarinde Famous-Cole, confirmed the incident, explaining that the command was investigating the circumstances, which led to the lynching.

“Despite our appeals, residents still took the laws into their hands today at Ikorodu. Unfortunately, the more such things happen, the more we would not be able to get to the root of the matter. If they handed him over to the police, we would have been able to question him. In any case, we are still investigating the incident,” Famous-Cole said.