Monday, October 20, 2025 - There was pandemonium on Saturday after some yet-to-be-identified gunmen stormed the military barracks in the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State and shot dead a butcher identified simply as Ridwan.
According to Punch the attack occurred around 8 am in the
Mammy Market section of the barracks.
It was gathered that the assailants, numbering about four,
entered the busy market and fired several shots into the air.
This was said to have caused traders and their customers to
flee in different directions.
After the brief chaos, the gunmen reportedly headed straight
to Ridwan’s stall and opened fire on him multiple times.
Eyewitnesses told our correspondent who visited the market
on Sunday that the attack happened within minutes.
One of the traders who identified himself as Mummy Blessing
said, “We were just opening for business when we heard gunshots. Everyone left
what they were doing and ran away. Before we knew it, the men who were wearing
masks went straight to where Ridwan was selling meat, shot him, and fled. When
we all came back, we saw him in a pool of blood.”
During the visit by PUNCH Metro, Ridwan’s meat
stall was seen to be located close to a corner in the market. His absence also
left the stall empty as other traders beside him went about their businesses.
Another eyewitness said the location of the stall aided the
operation of the assailants.
“The men were very close to Ridwan’s stall when they started
firing gunshots. So while everyone ran away, Ridwan could not find an escape
route. That was how they successfully killed him,” the eyewitness, identified
simply as Musa, disclosed.
Efforts made to save his life proved abortive as he was said
to have been rejected at the medical facility in the barracks.
“He was quickly carried into a tricycle and rushed to the
barracks clinic, but when they got there, he was rejected and referred
somewhere else. It was later in the day that we learnt he had died,” another
trader who did not want his name in print for personal reasons disclosed.
Meanwhile, there were speculations that the attack was
carried out by suspected cultists.
The deceased was also said to have been buried by the family
according to Islamic rites.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police
Command, Abimbola Adebisi, said she was not aware of the development.
“I am not aware, and no such incident has been reported at
the Onireke Police Station, which falls under the jurisdiction. However, the CP
has tasked the tactical squad on continuous patrol and also added more officers
in his determination to stamp out cultism and related crimes across the state,”
she said.
The spokesperson for the 81 Division of the army, Olabisi
Ayeni, could not be reached as calls made to his telephone line were not
responded to. A text message sent to him had yet to be replied to as of the
time this report was filed.
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