Lagos man dies after alleged assault over missing phone

A young man identified as Azeez has reportedly died after he was allegedly assaulted by suspected cult members following a dispute over a missing phone at Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos State.

The incident reportedly occurred on Monday, August 3, after an argument involving Azeez and some acquaintances escalated into an assault.

A police source said that the victim was allegedly attacked by suspected cultists said to be his friends following a disagreement over a phone that went missing after a party.

“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.

The source added that Azeez later died from injuries sustained during the alleged assault.

Meanwhile, an anti-cultism advocacy platform, Naija Confra, provided additional details, alleging that the incident began during a birthday celebration on Sunday night, August 2.

According to the platform, a fight broke out during the celebration, after which a man identified as Abela allegedly took a phone and handed it to Azeez.

The platform claimed that the phone’s owner later discovered it was missing and began searching for it. When the phone was eventually found in Azeez’s possession, he allegedly told the owner and his associates that Abela had given it to him to keep.

Naija Confra alleged that Abela denied giving Azeez the phone, after which Azeez was allegedly assaulted by the owner and his associates.

The platform further claimed that Azeez later confronted Abela over the alleged denial, leading to another confrontation.

It alleged that Azeez was subsequently taken to another location by suspected members of the Neo-Black Movement, where he was allegedly assaulted.

The circumstances surrounding the death remain unclear, while the allegations contained in the advocacy platform’s account could not be independently verified.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, could not be reached for comment as calls to her telephone lines went unanswered.

A text message sent to her had also not received a response as of the time of filing this report.