Lagos Police arrest 21 suspects over killing of 2 wanted gang leaders in Shomolu

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested 21 suspects allegedly involved in a clash that

The deceased, identified as Ibrahim Balogun, aka Small Jaypron, and Solo, were killed at a political gathering in Obanikoro area of Lagos State on Wednesday, October 17, 2018. Their deaths snowballed into a wave of violence that brought unrest to the Shomolu and Bariga areas of Lagos late on Wednesday before Police restored order.

According to a statement by the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Chike Oti, on Thursday, October 18, the deceased persons had been wanted by the authorities for their alleged involvement in several cult clashes, and were on the wanted list of the police for leading several cult fights in the Shomolu, Bariga, Fadeyi and Ojuelegba areas of the state.

He disclosed that 21 suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the case and are being questioned by homicide detectives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) Panti, Yaba. He said the state's Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, has ordered a manhunt for the perpetrators involved in the deadly clash.

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He noted that the convener of the political gathering, Hon. Ademorin Kuye, had failed to notify the authorities for adequate security, giving room for the clash that resulted in the loss of lives. He disclosed that Hon. Kuye has been invited for questioning.

Small Jaypron was a self-confessed cult leader

Small Jaypron, one of the deceased victims of Wednesday's clash, was a self-confessed leader of the Eiye confraternity. Solo belonged to a rival Aiye confraternity.

When he was paraded in handcuffs at the Ikeja Police Command headquarters in August 2016, Jaypron shared the story of how he took the lives of rival gang lords and why he became a bloodthirsty cultist.

"I am an Eiye cult leader. I joined the cult in 2009. The reason for my joining was to avenge the death of a close friend, Sunday Folorunsho, aka Small Biscuits.

"It was the Aiye cult members who killed him. So, the Eiye faction approached me and said I should join them and they would help me fish out the people who killed my friend.

"I had a lot of boys working for me. I have killed three persons among whom were Femi Wiper and Lekan Akon."

Before his 2016 arrest, the police had declared Jaypron a wanted man for a slew of murders and criminal activities in the Shomolu and Bariga areas of Lagos.