10th December, 2010
Residents of Akala area in Mushin, where a battle for supremacy has been going on between rival cult groups, have said that the incident that led to the killing of 9 year old primary school pupil, Aminat Oladepo did not take place in Akala.
According to the residents who pleaded that their names should not be mentioned for fear of reprisal attack, the incident in question took place along the railway line in the Fadeyi axis where cult members were engaged in a gun battle.
They said it was important for them to correct the impression that Akala area was still notorious, as the residents have now joined others in the neighbourhood to form an alliance to keep the cultists out of their area.
One of the residents said: “That incident never took place in here in Akala. They are just trying to give us a bad name so that they can come back to victimize and intimidate people who live in this area.â€
“We have started mobilizing to protect ourselves from these cult boys. We are the ones that suffer when they fight, so we are taking our fate into our hands by saying no to their constant harassment, intimidation and killing.†Another said.
The residents appealed to the state government to once and for all find a lasting solution to the Mushin gang war as innocent people in the area live in fear.
—Henry Ojelu