Grandchild,woman dies during Lagos cult clash......SEE PHOTO

Firstclass newsline~One-year-old Opeyemi Yusuf was licking a lollipop,
comfortably straddled to her grandma's back en route to the market,
when a bullet pierced through the back of their tricycle.
It 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.
Firstclass newsline learnt that the tricycle they boarded ran into the
middle of a gun battle between rival cult groups along Ishawo Road,
Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The incident, which happened on Tuesday, was said to have created
confusion as residents ran helter-skelter.
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."
He said his clothes had also become soaked in blood.
The other passengers, who suddenly realised what had happened, were
said to have raised the alarm.
"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.
Firstclass newsline learnt that instead of helping the victims, the
people started using their camera phones to take snapshots of the
woman and the baby, who still had the lollipop stuck to his mouth.
Policemen from the Owutu division were said to have been alerted to the scene.
Firstclass newsline learnt that the corpses were first taken to the
police station before they were deposited at the Ikorodu General
Hospital morgue.
Opeyemi's mother, Bukola, a teacher, said she was supposed to be in
the tricycle with her mother, because they had planned to go to the
market together.
She said, "My mother came from Ekiti to Lagos. She had spent one month with us.
"We were to go to the market together. She collected Opeyemi from me
and put him on her back. But as we were on the way, I remembered that
I left my phone at home and told her I was going to pick it.
"I told her to wait for me at the bus stop. It was long after when I
was called that something terrible had happened. I got to the place
and saw the bodies of my son and my mother."
Firstclass newsline learnt that the victims' family members were only
interested in burying both victims in their hometown in Ekiti State.
A police source, however, assured that the police would intensify
investigation to apprehend the suspects.
He said, "We will get the culprits.
"Nobody can do this kind of thing and go scot-free. The blood of the
innocent child will hunt them. They will have no rest."
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu,
said he would call back.
But he had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
Firstclassnewsline.net