Community unrest in Orile Iganmu on Tuesday after gunmen believed to be members of rival cult groups fired gunshots during the annual masqueraders in Lagos.

According to eyewitnesses, at least three people were killed during the incident.

The festival is a traditional cultural event associated with a tall masquerader called Igunnuko.

It was gathered that the masquerader, which customarily appears on Tuesdays during the festival, had just emerged when youths began firing gunshots behind it.

A resident in the community who identified himself simply as Toyosi told our correspondent on Sunday that three individuals were shot while an unspecified number of other participants were injured.

He said, “They were supposed to be firing shots behind the masquerader as it moved, but the shooting changed when some boys and their rivals sighted each other. That was when one of the suspected cultists and his boys started aiming at their rivals. Some people were also injured in the process.”

Another resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons, lamented the violence, noting that the festival traditionally promotes peace in the community. “The festival is celebrated every year to allow peace and to forestall any form of calamity in the community, but what happened was otherwise. This is very unusual because the festival has always been very peaceful,” the resident said.

The incident was said to have caused panic in the area as some of the participants scampered to safety.

An anti-cultism advocacy group, Naija Confra, in a post on X on Thursday, said two bodies were left at the scene, while one was taken away.

The platform added that one of the perpetrators fled the community after the incident.

“When the masquerade appeared this Tuesday, both groups started showing off their shooting skills behind it until a suspected cultist and his boys intentionally fired directly at their rivals. Residents confirmed that 3 people were shot and killed on the Aye side.

“Two bodies were left at the scene, while one was taken away. Babalawo, the notorious Eiye cultist, is said to have fled to Ilorin, Kwara State,” the platform noted.

Police operatives are yet to issue a formal statement as of the time of filing this report.