There was pandemonium on Saturday, October 18, when some gunmen, suspected to be cultists, stormed the military barracks in the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State and shot dead a butcher identified simply as Ridwan.
It was learnt that the attack occurred around 8:00am in the Mammy Market section of the barracks.
It was further gathered that the assailants, numbering about four, entered the busy market and fired several shots into the air.
This was said to have caused traders and their customers to flee in different directions.
After the brief chaos, the gunmen reportedly headed straight to Ridwan’s stall and opened fire on him multiple times.
A trader, who identified herself as Mummy Blessing, told newsmen: “We were just opening for business when we heard gunshots. Everyone left what they were doing and ran away. Before we knew it, the men, who were wearing masks, went straight to where Ridwan was selling meat, shot him, and fled. When we all came back, we saw him in a pool of blood.”
Another eyewitness said the location of the stall aided the operation of the assailants.
“The men were very close to Ridwan’s stall when they started firing gunshots. So, while everyone ran away, Ridwan could not find an escape route. That was how they successfully killed him,” the eyewitness, identified simply as Musa, disclosed.
Efforts made to save his life proved abortive as he was said to have been rejected at the medical facility in the barracks.
”He was quickly carried into a tricycle and rushed to the barracks clinic, but when they got there, he was rejected and referred somewhere else. It was later in the day that we learnt he had died,” another trader who did not want his name in print for personal reasons disclosed.
The deceased was said to have been buried by the family according to Islamic rites.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Abimbola Adebisi, said she was not aware of the development.