Cultists trailing rivals linked to NURTW leaders open fire on police

A routine police patrol in the Mafoluku area of Oshodi, Lagos, intervened in a planned reprisal attack by suspected cultists, leading to a gun battle and subsequent arrests. The confrontation occurred when the suspects, allegedly seeking revenge for the killing of an associate named Samuel four days prior, opened fire on rivals they believed were gathered in the area.

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We did not know there were policemen in the area. It was Temidayo who fired the gun, while I was hit by bullets fired by the policemen.

One of the arrested suspects, 45-year-old Tosin Agbeyangi, a caterer, stated that his group intended to fire into the air and were unaware of the police presence. Agbeyangi sustained a gunshot wound to the leg during the exchange of fire. He explained that the group, numbering about five or six individuals, some from Mushin and others from Oshodi, had gone to confront a rival gang.

Agbeyangi described a community divided into two dominant factions, allegedly associated with influential figures in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). He identified these as the "Oluomo Nation" and the "Koko Zaria Nation," with ongoing conflicts between them. Agbeyangi asserted that they were not members of the NURTW but supported these factions.

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We wanted to attack them because they killed one of us, Samuel, a few days earlier. We did not know there were policemen in the area at that time. It was Temidayo who fired the gun, while I was hit by bullets fired by the policemen.

However, police sources indicated the incident was not spontaneous. Investigators allege that Agbeyangi led the group to the area where Koko Zaria, a prominent NURTW leader, was present with others. The police, who had also stopped in the area due to suspicious activity, returned fire when the suspects began shooting, causing the assailants to flee.

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In Oshodi now, there are two factions. Those from Orile Oshodi around Mabolaje belong to Koko Zaria Nation, while boys from Mafoluku, Ewu and Eniyanlonbinu belong to Oluomo Nation. They have been fighting each other.