Suspected members of the Badoo cult early Friday morning, July 21, killed two lovers in their apartment in Ogun state.
The Punch source revealed that the heads of the victims were smashed.
The incident happened at a storey building located on Hassan Abiodun Street, off Ojodu Berger, in Ifo Local Government Area of the state.
Many of the residents could not be consoled as policemen from Ojodu Abiodun Division took away the remains of the deceased for onward transfer to the General Hospital Sagamu.
Many of the residents wailed as the corpses were brought out of the room and wrapped in wrappers.
A resident told Punch correspondent that the victims were to be officially married in December.
“The lady recently lost her father and the man she was to marry only came on a visit. She was a tall, beautiful lady and was also pregnant,” the resident said.
It was gathered that their assailants tore the window net to gain entry and thereafter smashed the lovers’ heads.
Another resident said none of the tenants knew what happened until daybreak.
The resident said: “There is a police officer who lives next door to the deceased’s Boy’s Quarter. He did not hear anything. It is very sad and this development will create panic in the area.”
It was also learnt that the police station is a stone’s throw from where the murder took place even as residents said vigilantes patrol the street every night.
The police also arrested a man who tried to take a picture of their van and the vehicle the victims were put in.
As of 11 am, the occupants of the building were still crying at the frontage.
The spokesperson for the police in Ogun, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, could not be reached for comments as his mobile indicated that it was switched off.
Meanwhile, the Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, has appealed to residents of the Ikorodu area of the state, those in the state generally and to the media to be careful of how they raise alarm and report issues regarding killings linked to the Badoo gang.
Killings alleged to be perpetrated by members of a gang widely known as Badoo have been causing panic in Lagos state, especially in the Ikorodu area, since last year and residents are now quick to link any killing to the gang.
The modus operandi of the gang has been identified as smashing of the head of their victims with a grinding stone, or any big, heavy stone for that matter, after which the killers would wipe the victims’ blood with a white handkerchief, which they allegedly use for money rituals.
Owoseni told journalists how a stone found behind an old woman’s house in the Agbowa area of Ikorodu caused pandemonium in the area.
He said that someone who was linked to the stone was almost lynched by residents of the area who trooped to the compound to catch a glimpse of the object.
He said: “One morning, a woman woke up in the morning to discover a mystery stone behind her window. She raised the alarm which attracted other neighbours to the area. A search was conducted and a young man was found to be hiding behind the woman’s house. The young man was almost lynched by an angry mob but for the timely arrival of the police who rescued the situation.
“All those questioned about the mystery stone could not give satisfactory statements as regard the stone and the young man. If the police had not arrived at the place on time, the suspect would have been killed.
“This is why we are trying to discourage people from carrying out jungle justice on supposed suspects. Any strange persons arrested should be handed over to the police for further investigation.”
He advised that the Badoo issue required professional handling, stressing that till now, nobody has been able to say that he or she saw someone climb into the home of a victim.
“All we have heard are mere rumours. The command is working tirelessly to see how it can control the situation. The whole thing seems to be getting out of hand because of the media hype.
“If a driver of a car with a tinted glass parks his vehicle at a junction, the tendency is that he will be lynched there once his face is not known to anyone in the area.
“We are seeking the cooperation of the media. It is not all about incompetence on the part of the police. We should join hands to condemn the jungle justice being meted out to suspects,” he said.z
Owoseni revealed that the command was still profiling all those arrested for their alleged involvement in the activities of the Badoo gang in Ikorodu, stating that at the end of the profiling all those found wanting would be charged to court.
According to him, among the screening panel are officials of the Department of State Security (DSS), the police and members of the Neighbourhood Security Watch group.
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