A 26-year-old artisan identified simply as Timehin has lost his life during a suspected cult initiation in the Awoyaya area of Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos State.
Chronicle NG gathered on Tuesday that the tragic event occurred on July 18, when gunmen believed to be from a rival cult group ambushed an initiation site deep in a nearby bush.
According to a family member who spoke under the condition of anonymity, Timehin had informed his family that he was going to visit a friend that evening. He never returned.
“Timehin left home in the evening and said he wanted to visit a friend. Nobody could stop him from going since he was an adult. It was the following day that our attention was called to a lifeless body found in a bush near the UBA bus stop at Awoyaya. When we got there, we were shocked to discover that he was the one. So, we had to quickly take him to the hospital to see if we could resuscitate him, but he was confirmed dead on arrival,” the relative said.
Another source from the community disclosed that Timehin sustained gunshot wounds on the neck and hand, adding that his death was linked to a cult initiation ceremony.
“We saw bullet wounds on his neck and his hand. We also realised, some days after his death, that he was taken to the location for cult initiation. We have not been able to confirm this from the police, though,” the source stated.
Efforts to get a response from the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, were unsuccessful. Multiple calls to his line went unanswered, and a text message sent to him remained unreplied as of the time of filing this report.
This incident adds to a growing list of cult-related violence in the state.
