BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
No fewer than five residents of Osogbo, capital of Osun State, were, on Sunday, shot during a clash that broke out between two rival cult gangs.
The Point reliably gathered that there was pandemonium around Gbeja area of the capital city around 10:30am when some armed men, suspected to be cultists, unleashed terror on their rival who fled into the street.
The cultists, who rode motorcycles to the area, were said to have pursued their rivals to a pitch located within L.A. Primary School, Gbeja area, Osogbo, where some football clubs were playing match.
The hoodlums, according to a resident of the area, who simply identified himself as Jimoh, started releasing gunshots in a bid to terminate their targets who ran into the football field.
Five persons, including two footballers and three fans, were said to have been hit by bullets.
Jimoh said, “When I returned from Church this morning, I saw people panicking in my area and I tried to find out what happened. They told me that some guys, who were members of occultic groups, stormed the street and started shooting.
“They were said to have been pursuing a rival gang member with guns, axe and other dangerous weapons while on motorcycles. Their targets ran into Gbeja football pitch where some clubs were playing their match. Gunshots hit some players and others on the field and they were rushed to the hospital after some minutes because the whole street was desolated as people ran into their homes when the cultists attacked.”
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the victims were rushed to some hospitals around the area after about 20 minutes when normalcy returned to the area.
When The Point’s correspondent visited Osogbo Central Hospital, Oke-Baale, other footballers who were colleagues of two of the victims, were seen roaming around the medical facility.
Reacting, a coordinator of one of the affected football clubs who did not want his name mentioned, confirmed that five persons were shot on the football pitch around 10:30am while the football match was ongoing. He said two were footballers while others were fans who visited the field to watch the match.
“We were playing a match with another club when we started hearing gunshots. Immediately, we started running to take cover. Unfortunately, when we returned to the field after about 20 minutes, we discovered that some people had been lying on the field in the pool of their blood. We immediately rushed three of them to Oke Baale Central Hospital, Oke-Baale, for treatment.
“The two others were taken to another hospital by some other sympathisers. I can’t tell you anything about their conditions now because we have not been allowed to see them after they were admitted at the Accident and Emergency Ward,” he said.
One of the staff of the hospital informed our correspondent that one of the three victims brought to the hospital got shot in the stomach while two others were shot on their legs.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, SP Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident and disclosed that a notorious leader of a cult group, who was recently released from a Correctional Centre in the State, led other gang members for the alleged reprisal attack.
Opalola said that some members of the tactical team of the Police had been drafted to the scene to restore peace and order.
She couldn’t give details of those who were attacked and shot adding that “We are still on the matter. I can’t give further details of victims or perpetrators now as we are still investigating. All I can say is that the attack was led by a notorious cult group leader who was recently released from the prison custody (Correctional centre) in the State. A tactical team has been deployed to the area to maintain peace and order,” the Police spokesperson further revealed to our correspondent on the telephone.
