EPE in Lagos State has been thrown into panic as gunmen have killed two persons, including a teacher, within three days. A member of staff of the Army Children Senior High School, Epe, Mr Abdulsaheed Hammed, was killed on Friday at his shop in Poka area of the town.
Mr Hammed’s murder followed that of a student of Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), who was killed by suspected cultists on Wednesday. The deceased teacher, popularly known as ‘World Morgan,’ was until the incident the Biology teacher and registrar-in-charge of the school. Nigerian Tribune gathered that the killing of the teacher might not be unconnected with a recent bust-up between him and some students of a rival school in the town.
He was said to have castigated and chased away some suspected secondary school students who were smoking and were unruly at the Army Secondary School.
The suspected killers of the teacher reportedly lured him to his shop after lying to him that they wanted to buy electrical equipment.
There were also others who alleged that he was ambushed in his shop and shot dead. About two days before the gruesome murder of the teacher, a student of MOCPED, Rasak Bakare, popularly known as Shafi, was killed inside the school campus.
The deceased student was on campus for an unnamed engagement when suspected cultists pounced on him and shot him in the head at close range. The corpse of the deceased Bakare was taken away from the school campus in an ambulance by policemen from Epe Divisional Police Station.
The incident forced the school management to suspend all academic activities on campus till Tuesday, November 23.
Meanwhile, the state government and the Nigeria Police Force have been called upon to get to the root of these dastardly killings and pay more attention to the activities of cultists and miscreants in Epe.
This call was made by the Stallion Circle, Epe, led by Mr L.O. Idris, who described Mr Ahmed as a responsible, religious, and hardworking Biology teacher.
The Stallion Circle described his death as barbaric and most tragic, not just because he was killed in the presence of his wife, and that he left behind children and a mother, but because his death was an agony to many who thronged his Janazzah prayer in their hundreds wailing, demanding justice and seeking help over the palpable fear in the town.
The group, therefore, wants the government and police to bring to book the culprits and secure the town more, adding that there is an inadequate police presence in the whole town.
The club wondered how one Divisional Police Station will be enough for a town as big as Epe.
The president, while using the opportunity to commiserate with the deceased’s family, also enjoined the traditional rulers to work with the local government in having a communal security arrangement.
The Muslim Teachers Association of Nigeria (MUTAN), Epe branch, while also condemning the killing of the teacher, called for “pragmatic and speedy investigations” into the incident.
The union, in a statement over the weekend, described the deceased Ahmed as ”hard-working,” just as it raised the alarm that “the teaching profession is unsafe and teachers have now become endangered species in the state.”
The teachers also said that: “The late Ahmed Saheed, who was the school’s Biology teacher and registrar, was reportedly shot several times and stabbed.
“Following this development, MUTAN Epe has called on the police and other relevant security agencies to ensure that the culprits are apprehended through careful and speedy investigation and all brought to justice.
“The Lagos State government should also put necessary and drastic measures in place to avert recurrence of this kind as schools are preparing for inter-house sports and first term examination.
“Teaching profession is a noble profession that must be respected at all times.”
Also, Club Seventies condemned what it described as the “wicked killings,” by suspected cult members in the town in three days.
The club, in a statement signed by its chairman, Ibrahim Sanuth, who also called on the state government and the police in the state to investigate the killings, appealed to the authorities to work with the traditional ruler in the fight against hooliganism and other vices.
Mr Sanuth urged schools to continue to engage the state, local government and security agencies towards finding lasting solution to frequent killings in Epe.
Meanwhile, the Epe Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Sikiru Oguniyi, said the latest cult killing occurred when the town was wit- nessing some respite.
Oguniyi said: “This is coming at a time when we thought that cult members had left Epe for neighbouring communities.” He also raised the alarm that “secondary school students are now involved in this ugly thing.”
Meanwhile, the police in the state have described the cult attacks in Epe as “isolated cases,” but noted that the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered deployment of special squads in the town and Ikorodu.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Adekunle Ajisebutu, while reacting to the rising cult-related attacks in Epe, said: “No! Cult members have not been on the rampage in any part of the state recently, although there are isolated cases and they are being addressed.
“Some of the cult members have been arrested and charged to court, while some are under investigation.”
The Lagos police spokesperson also stated that the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had dis- patched the state’s tactical team and other teams to Epe and Ikorodu axis, in particular, to complement existing security architecture there.
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