No fewer than four people were feared dead after clashes between suspected two rival cult groups at Baboko in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, in the early hours of Thursday.
Though the immediate cause of the clashes was not certain, a source told our correspondent that the suspected cultists fought over an unnamed young lady.
As of the time of filling this report, only one of the dead victims had been identified as Babatunde Sulyman.
Our correspondent learnt that Sulyman’s corpse was later conveyed in a Sienna space bus with number plate Lagos BDG 330 XH to a hospital.
It was also gathered that the corpse was accompanied by police officers in a Hilux pick up van marked NPF 2525 C said to belong to the ‘C’ Division of the Kwara State Police Command.
It was also learnt that while the police were preparing to take the corpse to the hospital’s mortuary, the suspected cult members reignited their bloody clashes in the same area.
After the clash, three people were feared dead. A relative to Sulyman, who pleaded for anonymity, told journalists that his late brother was killed by yet to be identified people allegedly from Adabata area of Ilorin.
According to him, Sulyamn died almost immediately after being hit by a bullet during the first clash as the suspected cultists allegedly shot indiscriminately into the building where the deceased reportedly slept.
The source added that another person, who was also asleep in the building, was lucky to sustain bruises on his cheek.
The new Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Command, Mr. Okasanmi Ajayi, in an interview with journalists said only Sulyman died. He stated that the police had brought the clashes under control, adding that the police had returned normalcy to the trouble area.