A 26-year-old artisan, identified simply as Timehin, has been killed during cult initiation rites in the Awoyaya area of Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.

It was learnt on Tuesday that the incident occurred on July 18, when suspected members of a rival cult group ambushed the initiation ground.

It was gathered that Timehin had been taken into a nearby bush late in the evening to be initiated as a recruit into the cult group.

However, shortly after the rites began, some assailants believed to be members of a rival cult stormed the scene and began shooting.

A relative of the deceased who disclosed this to our correspondent on Tuesday, on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the incident, said this caused the initiators of the rites to scamper for safety, while Timehin could not.

The family source told PUNCH Metro that Timehin was attacked and killed in the process.

He said, “Timehin left home in the evening and said he wanted to visit a friend.

“Nobody could stop him from going since he was an adult. It was the following day that our attention was called to a lifeless body found in a bush near the UBA bus stop at Awoyaya. When we got there, we were shocked to discover that he was the one. So, we had to quickly take him to the hospital to see if we could resuscitate him, but he was confirmed dead on arrival.”

Another source in the community who was aware of the incident said Timehin was shot in the neck and on the hand.

“We saw bullet wounds on his neck and his hand. We also realized some days after his death that he was taken to the location for cult initiation. We have not been able to confirm this from the police, though,” the source said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, could not be reached for confirmation as calls made to his telephone by our correspondent were not responded to. A text message sent to him had yet to be replied to as of the time of filing this report.

PUNCH Metro reported on July 16 that rampaging cultists hacked three residents to death in the Ebute Meta area of the state.

The victims were identified simply as Agbara, Butcher and a plumber whose identity had yet to be ascertained.

It was gathered that Agbara was attacked and killed in the Lagos Street area of the community days earlier.

A resident who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the victim’s body was found lying lifeless on the street in the evening with machete cuts.

Also in May, a cult clash between rival cult groups in the Owode Ajegunle area of the state left one person dead.

It was gathered that one of the rival cult groups was on a mission to avenge the death of one of them when they ran into another group.

A source in the community told our correspondent that this resulted in a confrontation leading to the death of the deceased, identified simply as Sparkle. (The PUNCH, but headline rejigged)