Two dead after machete attack at Lagos cinema

Two people have been confirmed dead after a machete-wielding man attacked two security guards at the car park of Filmhouse Cinemas IMAX in Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of Saturday.

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The Lagos State Police Command disclosed that one of the security guards was stabbed to death, while the suspected attacker was later mobbed and died.

The police spokesperson, Adebisi Abimbola, noted that another security officer was injured in the attack.

“Two people have been confirmed dead,” Ms Abimbola said.

She stated that the suspect appeared to be destitute and that the police were still trying to establish exactly what happened, including the circumstances surrounding his death.

The incident occurred shortly after patrons who had gone to see the film Odyssey began leaving the cinema.

Sports journalist Buchi Laba, who was among the moviegoers, also confirmed in a reaction post on X on Saturday that the film started at about 10 p.m. on Friday and ended around 2 a.m. on Saturday.

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Mr Laba stressed that he was confronted by a disturbing scene when he came out of the cinema.

“I came out, there was a huge crowd outside with blood everywhere,” he wrote on X.

He said two security officers had been attacked and that he used his car to take them to hospital.

Mr Laba explained that one of the victims had been stabbed in the chest and the other in the back. He added that one of the security guards later died.

He also said he was told that the man responsible for the attack had died at the scene.

“I had to stay back in my car and cry for hours,” Mr Laba wrote, describing the incident as one of the worst experiences of his life.

Vanguard newspaper reported that the attacker had attempted to enter the cinema but was stopped by security personnel, after which he became violent.

The police, however, have not released a detailed account of what triggered the attack.

Ms Abimbola said the chief security officer of the cinema had been taken into custody as part of the investigation.

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The police are also seeking to obtain and review CCTV footage from the premises to establish the sequence of events and determine whether other people were involved.

Filmhouse Group, in a statement on Saturday, confirmed that a security incident had occurred at the location but said it happened outside the cinema premises.

The company did not provide further details about the deaths.

The identities of the deceased had not been released as of the time of filing this report.

The police said investigation into the incident was ongoing.