A woman, identified as Mrs. Osayemi Victoria’s had her granddaughter, Opeyemi Yusuf on her back, while heading to the market in a tricycle when death called on their doorpost.  According to a story in Punch Newspapers, a bullet pierced through the back of their tricycle, hit Opeyemi in the head and penetrated to Mrs. Osayemi Victoria’s head, killing both victims on the spot.


Opeyemi was her mother’s only child, while the 57-year-old grandma was reportedly visiting when tragedy struck. It was revealed the tricycle they boarded ran into the middle of a gun battle between rival cult groups along Ishawo Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The driver of the tricycle, Awoyemi Olaoluwa, said the single bullet pierced through the nylon back side of the tricycle and hit the duo who was in the middle. The other two passengers, on the right and left, escaped unhurt.

Olaoluwa said, “I had picked Mama at Total bus stop. She was my second passenger and she was backing the child. I later picked another passenger along the road and she moved to the middle. I was heading towards the Agric bus stop along Ishawo Road. But when we got to Mechanic Village bus stop, I started hearing gunshots.

“My passengers asked me to hurry because there was a fight in the area. I was told the cultists were on motorcycles and were chasing and shooting at one another. We had not moved too far when I saw that the woman’s head was bowed and resting on my back seat. My passengers told me to stop. That was when I knew Mama and the child had been hit by a stray bullet,” he added.


The tricycle driver was said to have called for help as the other passengers alighted and mixed with a crowd of people that had formed around the scene.