Badoo killings: Inside the Ikorodu nightmare that shook Lagos

By Odunewu Olusegun

Between 2016 and 2019, a series of brutal nighttime attacks associated with the notorious Badoo killings turned parts of Ikorodu, Lagos State, into communities gripped by fear, forcing residents to rethink the safety of their homes and exposing the difficulties investigators faced in distinguishing confirmed crimes from rumours.

The attackers were associated with a disturbing pattern: intruding into homes at night and assaulting sleeping occupants with heavy stones, grinding stones or mortar pestles.

Some incidents left entire families dead, while others triggered panic across neighbouring communities.

A report by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, drawing on Nigerian media accounts and the Nigeria Watch database, documented 19 incidents linked to suspected Badoo attacks between June 2016 and September 2019, with 47 deaths reported. The figures include incidents attributed to alleged members and should not be interpreted as proof that every killing was committed by one organised group.

How fear spread across Ikorodu

The attacks attracted widespread attention in June 2016, when the murder of a young mother and her baby in the Ikorodu area became associated with the name “Badoo”. Subsequent reports described attackers entering homes through vulnerable windows and targeting residents while they slept.

As reports multiplied, residents became increasingly anxious about nighttime security. Some communities organised vigilante patrols, while rumours about alleged rituals, mysterious substances and supposed cult networks circulated alongside news of actual attacks.

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Those claims complicated the public understanding of the crisis. Although police reported cases involving alleged substances used to make victims sleep, claims about supernatural powers or a single, all-encompassing network required evidence rather than community speculation.

Police investigations and controversial arrests

In July 2017, the murder of four members of the Adejare family in Ibeshe intensified pressure on the authorities. Police subsequently reported the discovery of a suspected shrine in Agbowa and arrested several people in connection with their investigations.

Among those arrested was Alaka Abayomi Kamal, an oil marketer whose name later became prominent in the investigation. In December 2017, police declared him wanted in connection with the killings, following a warrant issued by a Lagos magistrate court. The declaration was an allegation by law enforcement, not proof of guilt.

The investigation also highlighted the risk of public suspicion turning into violence against innocent people. A report by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board cited contemporary accounts of suspected Badoo members being lynched by vigilantes, while police urged residents to hand suspects over to law enforcement rather than take the law into their own hands.

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The breakthrough that renewed hope

In January 2018, Lagos police announced the arrest of several suspects following an attack in the Ikorodu area. Then-Commissioner of Police Imohimi Edgal said an alarm raised by a victim alerted nearby vigilantes and officers, leading to arrests and further investigation.

Police alleged that some suspects used a substance to make occupants fall into a deep sleep before attacking them. They also identified Fatai Adebayo, described in the police account as a herbalist, among those arrested in connection with the investigation. These details were allegations reported by the authorities at the time.

By April 2018, the Lagos police commissioner said the group’s activities had been brought under control through community-based policing, security partnerships and the destruction of suspected shrines. However, reports of incidents attributed to alleged Badoo members continued into 2019, according to the Nigeria Watch data cited in the Canadian government’s review.

Questions that remain

The Badoo crisis exposed the vulnerabilities of poorly secured homes, the importance of timely intelligence and the dangers of allowing fear to replace evidence. It also raised questions about the effectiveness of investigations, the handling of suspects and the long-term support available to surviving families.

A full accounting would require updated police records, court judgments, verified victim lists and information on the final outcomes of prosecutions. Without those records, it would be misleading to suggest that every suspected participant was convicted or that every attack attributed to Badoo had the same perpetrators.

For Ikorodu residents who lived through the crisis, the killings remain a reminder of how quickly fear can reshape community life—and why public safety depends on credible investigations, accountable policing and justice for victims.