Three years after his brother was killed in a Mile 12 cult clash, Rafeeu Lawal says he and his family face renewed death threats from suspected cult members. He has fled the country while his wife and children remain in danger
Family in Fear: Three Years After Brother’s Murder, Rafeeu Lawal Says Cultists Are Targeting His Wife and Children
Barely three years after his brother was slain in a bloody cult clash at Mile 12, Lagos, Mr. Rafeeu Lawal has issued a gutting plea, and suspected cult members are now targeting the lives of his wife and children.
According to Rafeeu, he and his family have been living in fear following the tragic clash involving cults. “For several years now, my family and I have been experiencing fear due to the menace posed by cults, which has caused us serious emotional trauma,” Rafeeu told our reporter while in hiding.
Sulaiman, a former chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Mile 12 chairman of Lagos State Park and Management, was killed in a cult-related fight, which Rafeeu insists “had political undertones.”
Rafeeu narrated the moment his brother was attacked, “On May 29, 2022, which was a public holiday, I went to my brother’s office in Mile 12 to see him and discuss family matters. While I waited in his reception area, a group of people I now suspect belong to a cult entered the office. I overheard a heated argument… A video later made public shows my brother being attacked, and I subsequently saw the same suspects commit a lethal assault that caused his death. I can identify the suspects and believe they are members of an organized violent group operating in Mile 12.”
Rafeeu says the threats escalated after his family was accused of reporting cult activities to law enforcement — a charge that, he claims, made them a target.
“They alleged that some members of our family always report their criminal activities to law enforcement agents… With this, the cult group advertently launched a campaign of attack and violence against our family,” he said.
He recounted being followed, physically attacked, and forced to relocate multiple times — from Ikorodu to Ota, then to Ijesha in Surulere, and later to the northern part of the country for safety. Those moves did not stop the harassment.
“In June 2024, I received direct death threats by phone from an unfamiliar number. I reported to the divisional police office at Ijesha and the RRS at Ikeja to track the number. In the Extract from Police Crime Diary, seen by newsheadline247, Rafeeu stated that “the threatening become (sic) so consistent both on phone and physical on him and his family,” adding that he subsequently reported the matter to the Ijeshatedo Police Station and Special Police Squad.
“Two days later I received another snuff video depicting the killing of another individual. This video was deliberately sent to me as a threat, indicating that I could be the next target,” Rafeeu said.
Despite his absence, Rafeeu says the threats have not stopped — and have now focused squarely on his loved ones.
“The lives of my wife and children are in danger. I thought these people would back off if they don’t see me around again, but now they have turned to my family while I am away. No one to turn to for protection — I am helpless,” he sobbed over the phone.
He claims to have reported incidents to local police and anti-cult squads, but says he still lacks confidence that adequate protection will be provided.
“Out of fear I left Ikorodu and relocated… but despite the change of location, I noticed my movement was monitored, traced, and I was later physically attacked by some of their associate cult members,” he said, describing how even relocation failed to keep him safe.
The story of the Lawal family lays bare the human toll when organised cult violence, criminal elements and rival transport unions collide. Sulaiman’s death was not only a traumatic loss — it appears to have marked his remaining family for retribution.
“When I was discharged from the clinic after that attack, friends and family advised me to stay clear of the environment. Yielding to this advice, I left my family and relocated… with the hope that I am their only target,” he said. “But they are now targeting my family.” Read More
