Man Drowns In Agility River While Fleeing Suspected Cultists

Kehinde Adeleye

A man identified simply as Opeyemi has drowned after allegedly jumping into a river while being chased by suspected cultists in the Agility area of Mile 12, Lagos State.

A police source on Sunday said that the incident occurred on Saturday, September 12.

According to the source, Opeyemi was on his way to purchase an item when some persons allegedly began chasing him.

The source said the men eventually caught up with him and allegedly attacked him before he jumped into the river in an attempt to escape.

A resident who spoke on the incident said some people attempted to rescue Opeyemi but were allegedly prevented from doing so by those chasing him.

“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,” the resident said.

“Some people wanted to rescue him, but those chasing him prevented them from doing so.”

Opeyemi was subsequently said to have drowned.

However, an anti-cultism advocacy platform, Naija Confra, gave a different account of the incident in a post on Sunday.

The platform said some residents claimed Opeyemi was under the influence of a substance and jumped into the river on his own, while others who purportedly witnessed the incident alleged that he was chased and attacked.

According to the platform, some witnesses claimed Opeyemi was on his way to buy drugs when he was chased by some people who allegedly caught and attacked him before he jumped into the river.

The witnesses also reportedly claimed that attempts by people to rescue him were prevented by the attackers.

Opeyemi was described by those familiar with him as a nice, hardworking and good person.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear as of the time of filing this report, with the conflicting accounts yet to be independently verified.

When contacted for a reaction on Sunday, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, said she would revert.

She had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.