AJAH — A renewed wave of bloody supremacy battles between rival cult groups has thrown residents of the Eti-Osa local government area of Lagos State into panic, leaving at least three persons dead in a series of targeted hit operations.
Loading ...The violent clashes, which occurred across communities along the Lekki-Epe expressway corridor, involved members of the Supreme Eiye Confraternity and the Neo Black Movement of Africa (NBM, popularly known as the Black Axe or Aye Confraternity).
According to field reports tracked by anti-cultism monitoring platform Naija Confra, the violence escalated into a deadly game of numbers between the General Paint area of Ajah and the nearby Langbasa community.
The Spark: The Killing of a Returnee
The latest round of hostilities reportedly began on Monday night in Langbasa, when Aye hitmen launched a deceptive operation. Disguising themselves as members of the Eiye confraternity, the operatives targeted and killed an individual identified simply as Festus.
Sources familiar with the victim revealed that Festus, a father of young children, had spent significant time living abroad. Upon his return to Nigeria, however, he allegedly began associating with local gang elements in the Langbasa area—a development peers noted fundamentally altered the direction of his life before his sudden assassination.
The Retaliation at General Paint
In what security analysts describe as a direct reprisal for Festus’s murder, an Eiye hit squad operating in the General Paint area of Ajah—not far from the Abraham Adesanya Estate—spotted two alleged NBM (Aye) members on Tuesday.
The victims, identified by their street names “Omo Long” (seen in a white shirt) and “Ikuto,” were residents of the General Paint neighborhood who actively participated in local cult structures. According to eyewitness accounts, the duo had briefly stepped out of their base to run an errand when they were ambushed and executed by the rival hit squad.
The chaos of the day took another alarming turn at around 2:20 PM at the General Paint bus stop. Terrified commuters aboard a commercial bus reported seeing a group of unidentified cultists chanting code slogans before forcefully abducting a commercial bus conductor directly from his vehicle while passengers were boarding. The whereabouts of the conductor remain unknown.
Police Move In, Detain Key Eiye Leader
Following the double homicide at General Paint, tactical operatives of the Lagos State Police Command locked down the area, launching aggressive raids to restore order and arrest suspects connected to the killings.
Among those apprehended during the sweep was an alleged high-ranking Eiye leader popularly known as Samson, alias “Daddy Yo.” A video circulating online showed the suspect being transported at the back of a police utility vehicle following his arrest in the neighborhood.
While residents are calling for sustained police presence to prevent further reprisal attacks along the Ajah-Badore axis, security channels continue to reiterate the ultimate warning to the youths of the state: Reject cultism and stay safe.
