How killers raped, murdered my mother, others

A twenty-eight-year-old lady, Abiodun Kokoroaiye, yesterday narrated how marauding gunmen gruesomely murdered her mother, son and two siblings last week Wednesday in Agbowa area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The deceased were killed in a church, Imoleayo Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) on Oshiyemi Street, Mosafejo, Agbowa around 3:00a.m. While suspected members of a cult gang known as Badoo murdered the four victims in cold blood inside the church, a man and his two sons were killed at a nearby residential building on the same day.

As a result of the killings, residents of Mosafejo community on the outskirts of Lagos have sent a Save-Our-Souls (SOS) to Governor Akinwumi Ambode. They alleged that a killer squad has invaded the community to wreak havoc in the area.

The residents, many of whom have fled the community, alleged that for the past two months, over 10 persons have been killed in the most horrific manner. One of the victims, Abiodun Kokoroaiye, narrated how she lost her mother, son, niece and a foster child to the daredevil killers.

Narrating her ordeal, Kokoroaiye said, on the fateful day, “the hoodlums sneaked into our church, Imoleayo Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S), where my mother and three others were sleeping and murdered them in cold blood.

“The killers smashed their heads with grinding stone and used machete to dismember their bodies. Christiana, aged nine, Yusuf, aged four, and Debora, 11, were all butchered in the most horrific manner.

“In another compound on Olayinka Street, three other persons, a father and two sons were also murdered in a similar manner at the same time, showing that it was done by the same gang that killed my family members.

“Right now, we have all deserted the area for fear of possible attack by the gang. Why I am still at Ikorodu is to secure the bail of my elder brother, Seun, whose daughter was also killed. He was detained, but later released. He was asked to be reporting at the police station daily.

“The murders happened around 3:00a.m. but the police did not respond to our distress call until 6:00a.m., showing that the area is not secured. That is why we are calling on Governor Ambode and the state police commissioner, Fatai Owoseni, to provide security at the Agbowa area.

“We are also making a passionate appeal to the governor to prevail on the police to release the dead bodies of our slain relatives so as to give them a befitting burial and for their souls to rest in peace. We are also appealing to the police boss to prevail on the Agbowa police station to stop harassing Segun, whose child was also murdered.”

Kokoroaiye further told The Guardian that the killers often sneak into victim’s house at an unholy hour when they are sure neighbours would be fast asleep to steal and rape women.

Another parent, Oluwaseun Kokoroaiye, said his first child, Omolara Christina, was among those murdered in cold blood. He said: “I did not know they attacked my father’s church. It was the shout of help from a building close by that alerted me.

“I rushed to the building half naked and met a man and his two children in a pool of their blood. I went back home to dress properly, and alerted other neighbours so that we could rush the man, and one of his sons, who were still breathing to the hospital.

“I took the boy on my bike to General Hospital. On my way back, I saw my father with his second wife coming towards the church. I asked them where they were going and they said that somebody attacked the church. I was still arguing with them that it wasn’t the church when they said I should follow them.

“When we got there, we saw my mum, my first child, Omolara, my niece and a foster child. The three children were dead, but only my mother was breathing. We rushed her to the hospital where she later died. I came back home frustrated, only to meet some policemen from Agbowa. They said they want to go with the bodies of the three children, but I refused.

“I told them we will rather bury them since the worst had happened. They saw a rubber band on my wrist. The police invited me to the station, where the DPO asked what the rubber band on my wrist was all about. They asked which cult group I belonged to and that I sent the killers after my stepmom, only for them to kill my mother. I was detained for a day.”