Gift Andrew
BBC News Pidgin, Reporter
Monday 22 August, na like normal day for Akeem Adebisi.
Di 25-year-old wake up early, happy and agile wit plan to later go work for night.
Im sabi say di popular Oro festival wey dey happen evri year wey go happun later dat day, but wetin im no know be say na dat edition go be im last.
Oro festival na event wey traditionalists for some southwest states of Nigeria and dey mostly do for night – except you dey part of dem, mnay pipo no too sabi wetin be di activities dem dey do, but evribodi sabi say dem go hold bodi and stay inside dia house.
Few days before di event, di worshippers do public awareness to residents around dia worship areas to alert dem.
Adebisi na di bell master wey dey move around to ring di bell and do announcement for im area; e follow share informate say non worshipers of Oro dey expected to stay indoors wen di procession dey happun for night.
Monday night come reach but sadly e turn out to be im last outing as di young man die during di Oro procession.
Wetin lead to Akeem death
Eye witnesses wey no wan make we tok dia names tell BBC pidgin say as di Oro worshippers dey proceed on dia waka for di streets of Oko-Oba area of Lagos state, dem notice say members of one church for di same area bin dey hold night vigil on di same night.
According to di eyewitnesses, dem say na popular church and evribodi sabi say dem dey regularly do vigil prayers.
On Monday night, some church members dey outside di premises as di space no fit contain plenti pipo.
Chief Razak Alamude wey be di Baale (traditional leader) for di area tok say di Oro worshippers tell di church pipo to enta inside dia church but dem no gree.
Na so kasala bust and pesin die.
“Na wetin cause fight between di two set of worshippers.
Dem hit Akeem wit coconuts and oda items wey make am fall. E happun for night, if to say na for day time di boy for see di kain object wey dem wan hit and know how to dodge am”.
Di Baale add say wen di Oro worshippers (wey im too belong to) try to fight back, im block dem to avoid more bloodshed.
“We cari Akeem to like five hospitals but dem reject am and later refer us to LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital) but im die on di way”
‘I wan justice’
Wasiu Adebisi na Akeem papa say son na di bread winner of di family since im wife pass away nine years ago and e don dey old to do much work.
“Akeem na number three among my pikin dem, and im be tailor.”
Oga Adebisi tok say evribodi like Akeem for dia area.
“We don bury am, na very good boy, evribodi for dis area like am”.
E beg make goment come to dia help and ensure say e get justice.
“I wan justice”, na so di papa tok.
Broken bottles and coconuts plus blood stains for di church floor
All di try wey our reporter try to hear from di church pipo about wetin happen no work.
Wen our reporter visit di church, wey be very small building wey no fit handle crowd, e see say evriwia dey empty.
For di floor plus inside di buiding, na so so broken bottles and coconuts plus blood stains deydi church floor.
Oro worshippers clashed with church members holding a vigil. It sadly resulted in the death of one person. It’s clearly a murder case. Suspects have been arrested. But henceforth, how do we ensure religious tolerance in similar cases?
— SP Benjamin Hundeyin (@BenHundeyin) August 24, 2022
Lagos police tok tok pesin Benjamin Hundeyin say dem don arrest 50 years old pastor of di church Prophetess Mercy Noka and nine oda members of di church and investigation dey go on.
Inside one tweet for im verified Twitter handle, Hundeyin say ”Clearly, na murder case. Suspects don chop arrest”.
