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.
A police source, who spoke with our correspondent on Sunday, said the incident occurred on Monday, August 3, after Azeez and some associates reportedly became involved in an argument over a missing phone following a party.
According to the source, the disagreement escalated into a physical attack on Azeez by some of the suspected cultists, who were said to be his friends. He reportedly sustained injuries during the assault and later died.
“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 source said.
An anti-cultism advocacy platform, Naija Confra, provided a separate account of the incident in a post published on Saturday, alleging that the events began during a birthday celebration on Sunday night, August 2.
The platform claimed that a fight broke out at the gathering and that a man identified as Abela allegedly picked up a phone and handed it to Azeez.
According to the account, the phone’s owner later realised it was missing and began searching for it. When the device was eventually traced to Azeez, he allegedly explained that Abela had given it to him for safekeeping.
Naija Confra alleged that Abela denied handing the phone to Azeez despite claims that witnesses had seen him do so.
The platform further claimed that the phone’s owner and some associates subsequently assaulted Azeez before leaving the venue after allegedly being unable to confront Abela.
It added that Azeez later confronted Abela over the alleged denial, resulting in another confrontation that reportedly escalated into a further assault.
According to the advocacy platform, Azeez was subsequently 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 of the circumstances surrounding the alleged second assault or identify those responsible for the attack.
The source confirmed that Azeez eventually died from injuries sustained during the assault.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, could not be reached for an immediate reaction. Calls placed to her telephone lines were unanswered, while a text message sent to her had not received a response as of the time of filing this report.
The circumstances surrounding Azeez’s death remain subject to police investigation, and the allegations made by the advocacy platform could not be independently verified.
Suspected cultists allegedly beat man to death over missing phone in Lagos