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Police shoots man to death while struggling for free Sallah Ram

The Lagos State police command has been accused of killing an innocent man and dubbing him a cultist.

The late Abiodun Balogun

A 33-year-old young man, Abiodun Balogun, has been reportedly shot dead by a police sergeant identified as Adekan Adesola, while struggling to collect free Ram said to be shared by a politician in the Ebute Oniyanrin, Ilaje-Bariga area of Lagos State.

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The killing of the young man who worked as block moulder in a block industry, has thrown the community into apprehension as the family of the deceased are now at logger heads with the police after the State Police Command released a statement that 'Abiodun was a wanted cultist, and died during an exchange of fire.'

But it was however, gathered that the murdered man had accompanied a friend to the area in the morning of Tuesday, September 22, purportedly to collect the Ram and other Sallah gifts said to be shared by a politician in the area when there was an altercation with the police, resulting in his death.

It was gathered that the police officer who was not dressed in uniform, manhandled Abiodun and allegedly dragged him on the ground before shooting him dead while his friend managed to escape being felled by the power drunk officer.

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The late man's mother, Aishat Balogun, had a different version of the story as she said that the sergeant had been looking for her son for sometime as a result of her son’s refusal to join the Eiye cult group which dominated the area.

“I was still with him on Monday, and we were discussing how we would celebrate the Sallah. I did not know that evil was lurking.

It was around 8am today (Tuesday) that someone called me and said the sergeant had shot Abiodun dead. The lie they are spreading now is that he was a cultist.

But the fact is that Adesola is a notorious policeman in our area. He has been shooting at people, claiming that they are cultists.

But Abiodun was not a cultist. They had been luring him to join them, but he refused. I do not know the fate of my son presently. I have not been allowed to see him at the police division,” the bereaved woman narrated.

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The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, confirmed the incident but insisted that Abiodun was a wanted cultist by the police, adding that the 33-year-old was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire.

“He was a wanted cultist by the police. He died during the exchange of fire. He was known in the area as Anarchy. The case has been taken to SARS for further investigation.”

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