Lagos Police Nab 28-Year-Old With Pistol, Ammunition at Ikotun

A 28-year-old man, Farouq Balogun, has found himself in serious legal trouble in Lagos after he was allegedly caught with a locally made pistol and two live cartridges while returning from a secret cult initiation.

According to reports, Balogun was intercepted by a tactical team of the police led by Superintendent of Police, Banti Adamu, around the Ikotun roundabout area of the state. The officers reportedly recovered the firearm and ammunition from him and subsequently detained him at the State Command for further investigation.

The incident occurred on December 24, 2025, shortly after Balogun was said to have participated in a cult initiation the previous day in the Okota area of Lagos.

Initially arrested as a suspected armed robber, Balogun reportedly told investigators that he was not involved in robbery but had just returned from an initiation ceremony of the Eiye confraternity at Chemist Bus Stop in Okota.

In an attempt to prove his claim, he allegedly gave details of the cult group and explained how he was taken to an undisclosed location in Okota for the initiation ceremony before heading home with the firearm when he was stopped by the police.

Following investigations, the police found him culpable and subsequently arraigned him before an Ogba Magistrate Court on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, membership of an unlawful society, and unlawful possession of firearms.

The prosecution alleged that Balogun and others still at large conspired on December 23, 2025, at Chemist Bus Stop, Okota, to engage in activities of an unlawful society, an offence punishable under Section 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

He was also accused of participating in the initiation of the Eiye confraternity, a group proscribed under the Unlawful Societies Prohibition and Cultism Law of Lagos State, 2021.

The third count stated that Balogun was found in possession of a locally made pistol and two live cartridges at Ikotun roundabout on December 24, 2025, without lawful authority, an offence contrary to the Firearms Act.

The court, however, did not take his plea and ordered that he be remanded at the correctional facility in Kirikiri, pending legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The DPP’s advice will determine whether the case will remain at the magistrate court or be transferred to the High Court due to jurisdictional considerations.