'Cultists' kill 20-yr-old student, mistook him for a rival cult member

Suspected cultists have shot dead a 20-year-old student, Sharafadeen Ajao, at Oworonshoki, Lagos, in what is believed to be a case of mistaken identity.

According to a Punch report, Ajao only just graduated from secondary school last year and planned to sit for this the May/June West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

The deceased, also an apprentice tailor, was however killed by two masked gunmen who struck on a motorcycle around 8.30pm on Monday, 9th of February.

He was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where he was declared dead.

A resident who witnessed the shooting, Mr. Akin Shehu, told was just a victim.

“I was also relaxing in front of my shop on that evening when the men rode by. When I heard the gunshots, I thought it was the sound of a firecracker," Shehu said.

"Within two minutes, they had left, and we rushed to the shop and met Sharafadeen in a pool of blood.

“He was a devout muslim, and had just returned from the 8pm prayer when the assailants shot him.

Mr Shehu believes that the killers had targeted a different person whom he identified as Segun, an active 'political thug'.

The deceased elder brother, Mr. Abdulrazak Ajao, also told Punch that the late student could not have been a cultist.

“He was learning fashion designing so that he would not be bored. His main focus was to sit for the WASSCE in May. His death is a shock to the whole family.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the killing, adding that the deceased has been buried according to Islamic rites.

Nwosu added that the police are investigating the matter in order to apprehend the attackers.

gathered that the gunmen also shot and critically injured two persons L&K Street in the area.