A late-night incident at the Filmhouse IMAX Cinema in Lekki, Lagos, has left a security guard and a suspected attacker dead after a machete attack on the cinema premises.
The incident occurred on Friday night and reportedly caused panic among cinema patrons and others at the facility.
An eyewitness, Buchi Laba, who said he had watched The Odyssey at the cinema, recounted that the movie started at about 10 p.m. and ended around 2 a.m. When he emerged from the building, he reportedly encountered a large crowd and blood at the scene.
According to Laba, a man armed with a machete had allegedly entered the premises and attacked two security guards. One guard was reportedly stabbed in the chest while the other sustained an injury to the back.
Laba said he used his vehicle to transport the injured security personnel to a hospital, where he later learnt that one of the guards had died.
The suspected attacker also died at the scene after he was reportedly attacked by a mob following the confrontation with the security guards.
The police have confirmed two deaths — a security guard and the suspected attacker — while another security guard sustained injuries.
According to the police account, the suspect, who was described as appearing destitute and possibly under the influence of drugs, allegedly attempted to force his way into the cinema but was stopped by security personnel.
An altercation reportedly followed, during which the suspect allegedly stabbed one security guard and injured another before he was subsequently mobbed and killed.
However, the police said investigations were ongoing to establish the precise sequence of events and circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Security agencies are reportedly reviewing CCTV footage from the premises as part of the investigation, while the cinema’s Chief Security Officer has also been taken into custody.
Authorities are expected to establish what happened from the suspect’s arrival at the premises through the confrontation with the security personnel and the events that followed.
The incident was not reported as an attack inside a cinema hall filled with patrons, but rather as a violent confrontation at the cinema premises after the suspect allegedly attempted to gain entry.
Nevertheless, the incident left patrons and witnesses deeply shaken, particularly those who emerged from the late-night movie screening to find a crime scene instead of the routine Lagos night-time environment.
