By Ado Oyeyemi
A man identified simply as Opeyemi has drowned after reportedly jumping into a river while attempting to escape from suspected cultists in the Agility area of Mile 12, Lagos State.
The incident occurred on Saturday, September 12, according to a police source who spoke to PUNCH Metro on Sunday.
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The source said Opeyemi was on his way to buy an item when some men allegedly began chasing him.
It was gathered that the men eventually caught up with him and allegedly attacked him, forcing him to jump into the river in an attempt to escape.
A resident, who spoke about the incident, said some people attempted to rescue Opeyemi but were allegedly prevented from doing so by those chasing him.
The resident said, “We got a report that he was being chased by some people suspected to be cultists who caught him and attacked him before he jumped into the river.
“Some people wanted to rescue him, but those chasing him prevented them from doing so.”
Opeyemi was subsequently reported to have drowned in the river.
However, an anti-cultism advocacy platform, Naija Confra, gave a different account of the incident in a post seen on Sunday.
The platform said while some residents alleged that Opeyemi was under the influence of a substance and jumped into the river himself, others who claimed to have witnessed the incident maintained that he was chased and attacked.
According to the platform, some witnesses alleged that Opeyemi was on his way to buy drugs when he was pursued, caught and attacked before he jumped into the river.
They further claimed that attempts by some people to rescue him were allegedly thwarted by his attackers.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear as of the time of filing this report, as the conflicting accounts had yet to be independently verified.
When contacted for a reaction, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said she would revert. She had yet to respond as of the time of filing this report.
