By Sunday Ameh
A young man identified as Azeez has reportedly died after he was allegedly assaulted by suspected cultists following a dispute over a missing mobile phone in the Oko-Oba area of Agege, Lagos State.
The incident reportedly occurred after a social gathering, with the disagreement over the missing phone said to have escalated into a violent confrontation involving Azeez and some associates.
A police source who spoke with journalists said the incident occurred on Monday, August 3, adding that Azeez and some of the suspected cultists involved in the incident were reportedly friends.
According to the source, the argument started after a phone went missing following a party.
The disagreement allegedly became physical, with Azeez reportedly attacked and sustaining serious injuries. He later died from the injuries sustained during the assault.
“We got a report that he passed away as a result of an assault on him by some suspected cultists said to be his friends. The argument was as a result of a missing phone,” the police source said.
However, a separate account provided by an anti-cultism advocacy platform, Naija Confra, gave further details about the circumstances leading to the alleged assault.
According to the platform, the incident began during a birthday celebration on Sunday night, August 2, when a fight reportedly broke out at the gathering.
The platform alleged that a man identified as Abela picked up a phone during the gathering and handed it to Azeez.
The owner of the phone was later said to have discovered that the device was missing and began searching for it.
When the phone was eventually traced to Azeez, he reportedly explained that Abela had handed the device to him for safekeeping.
However, Naija Confra alleged that Abela denied giving the phone to Azeez, despite claims that some witnesses had seen him hand over the device.
The platform further alleged that the owner of the phone and some of his associates subsequently assaulted Azeez before leaving the scene after allegedly being unable to confront Abela.
Azeez was said to have later confronted Abela over the alleged denial, leading to another confrontation.
The disagreement reportedly escalated, with Azeez allegedly subjected to another assault.
Naija Confra further alleged that Azeez was later taken to another location by suspected members of the Neo-Black Movement, where he was allegedly attacked.
The police source, however, did not provide details about the alleged second assault or independently confirm the identities or affiliations of those responsible.
The source only confirmed that Azeez eventually died from injuries reportedly sustained during the assault.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over the dangers of cult-related violence and the escalation of minor disagreements into deadly confrontations.
A dispute over a missing mobile phone has now reportedly resulted in the death of a young man, while the exact sequence of events leading to his death remains under investigation.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Calls placed to her telephone lines were reportedly unanswered, while a text message sent to her had not received a response as of the time of filing the report.
Meanwhile, the allegations made by Naija Confra could not be independently verified, while the circumstances surrounding Azeez’s death remain subject to further police investigation.
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