Three shot de@d during masqueraders festival in Lagos

Gunmen believed to be members of rival cult groups opened fire during the annual masqueraders festival held in the Orile Iganmu area of Lagos State, resulting in the de@ths of at least three people.

The festival, a traditional cultural event associated with a tall masquerade called Igunnuko, was underway last week when the chaos unfolded.  The masquerade, which customarily appears on Tuesdays during the festival, had just emerged when youths began firing gunshots behind it.

Soon, a suspected cult leader and his boys allegedly aimed their guns directly at their rivals instead of shooting into the air as is customary, Punch reports.

A resident in the community who identified himself simply as Toyosi told the publication on Sunday, Nov. 23, that three individuals were fatally shot while an unspecified number of other participants were injured.

He said, “They were supposed to be firing shots behind the masquerader as it moved, but the shooting changed when some boys and their rivals sighted each other. That was when one of the suspected cultists and his boys started aiming at their rivals. Some people were also injured in the process.”

Another resident said, “The festival is celebrated every year to allow peace and to forestall any form of calamity in the community, but what happened was otherwise. This is very unusual because the festival has always been very peaceful.”

The incident was said to have caused panic in the area.

An anti-cultism advocacy group, Naija Confra, in a post on X, said two bodies were left at the scene, while one was taken away. The platform added that one of the perpetrators fled the community after the incident.

“When the masquerade appeared this Tuesday, both groups started showing off their shooting skills behind it until a suspected cultist and his boys intentionally fired directly at their rivals. Residents confirmed that 3 people were shot and k!lled on the Aye side.

“Two bodies were left at the scene, while one was taken away. Babalawo, the notorious Eiye cultist, is said to have fled to Ilorin, Kwara State,” the platform noted.