By Gbenga Alade
The police in Lagos have arrested a 37 year-old suspected cultist, Azeez Ajayi, who is also a member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, for allegedly brandishing two Barreta pistols at a party in the Ijora area of Lagos State.
The suspect was arrested by the operatives of the Lagos State Anti-Cultism Unit as the clip of a video recording in which he wielded the two pistols went viral on social media.
It was learnt that Ajayi was arrested in company with one Omoyibo Ejovwoke, 26, while, three rounds of live ammunition were recovered from them.
Ajayi was said to have brandished the two pistols on June 14 at the Ijora 7Up area, where he and other members of the union were celebrating the victory of Baruwa, who won the NURTW election in Abuja. The celebration was said to have left one Yusuf Rilwan dead while many others were injured.
Ajayi said he’s a member of NURTW; because of the factions in the union, he decided to pitch his tent with the Alhaji Tajudeen Baruwa faction, led by one Adisa in the Ijora, Apapa- Iganmu area of Lagos.
He said, “I was shown the guns by one Azeez, an auto mechanic at the venue of the party; I picked it with the intention of throwing it away and kept it. I have been with the gun for six months now, but I don’t use it for anything. I am not a cultist; the mistake I made was that I didn’t take the guns to the police. I just kept it in case we started street fight in our area in order to protect myself.
“I am a member of the NURTW. We have two factions of the union in Lagos now, but I belong to the Baruwa caucus. Our Branch Chairman is Okere.”
He further said, “On that fateful day I was shown the guns, we organized a party to celebrate our newly elected President of NURTW, Alhaji Baruwa. Although we didn’t get any approval from the Police and the Local Government and we are only celebrated, we didn’t envisage it would turn bloody.
“When we were having the party, the other faction came to the venue and we started bragging with each other and that was how the clash started and one person was killed and several others sustained injuries.
“We started throwing broken bottles at one another; the police later came and arrested one Lukmon Alabi, who was at the party with us when the crisis was going on.”
However, the Ojora of Ijora land and Iganmu Kingdom, Lagos, Oba Fatai Oyeyinka Aremu Aromire, told our correspondent that Azeez, the suspect, did not belong to the Ojora lineage.
Oba Aromire said, “I know Azeez’s mother, who is a daughter of Akindele, but Azeez’s father is not an Ojora. I will like to clear that issue of his father, who is from Kwara State and, therefore, Azeez has no right to bear Ojora.
“This is what I was just talking about. How would a woman allow her children bear her father’s name, instead of her husband’s name? Ask Azeez himself if his father is the son of Ojora. His mother’s father is Akindele; I am the son of Oyegbe. So, we are not from the same lineage.
“I don’t know what he does for a living, but he and some other boys are of bad character in the neighborhood. How will a responsible person be caught with gun? You won’t see Ojora in my children’s name, they use my name. You won’t also see Ojora in my name because it is the name of the palace.”
When contacted, The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkanah, said the Commissioner of Police, Muazu Zubairu, had directed the Divisional Police Officer in the area and the Anti-Cultism Unit to go after all those that appeared in the video clip because the command wouldn’t tolerate any act of hooliganism in the state.
