It was serious tension that took over Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as some unknown gunmen shot dead a man said to be a forest guard.
The incident happened on Friday around Leme, Abiola Way, Abeokuta at about 8pm.
Residents of the area scampered for safety as the assailants reportedly accosted the forest guard on the main road and shot him dead.
The Ogun State Police Command confirmed the incident to newsmen on Saturday morning.
However, the command’s spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the incident was a cult clash.
According to Oyeyemi, the deceased was shot dead by some suspected cultists.
“Yes, somebody was shot dead, but it was a cult clash. The information I have was that there was a cult clash around the Leme area yesterday, where a man who was also a forest guard was shot dead,” Oyeyemi confirmed.
He stated that the police are on top of the situation, adding that the matter is now at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran.
“We have commenced investigation on the incident and those behind it would be fished out. The case has been transferred to state CID,” he added.
Oyeyemi stressed that the police would continue to clamp down on cultists terrorising the state if they refuse to renounce their membership of the outlawed groups.
“We have given them the window of opportunity before now that they should come forward and renounce their membership of these useless cult groups. Those who refused to renounce, we have arrested many; many are being prosecuted, many of them are in prison custody. We will not rest until we get the last member of those useless groups,” he threatened.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police advised parents to warn their children against cultism, adding that being a member of any outlawed or proscribed cult group is a crime.
Recalls that Governor Dapo Abiodun recently listed cultism as one of the biggest security challenges facing the state.
Abiodun had earlier warned that he would demolish houses harbouring cultists in the state, threatening that their parents would also be prosecuted.
DAILY POST
