
Pandemonium broke out Monday at Oko-Oba, Agege area of Lagos State when hoodlums numbering over a hundred stormed the streets, protesting the killing of one of their colleagues by an irate mob for alleged robbery.
Reports say the deceased who was also suspected to be insane attacked residents of number 7, Adeketu Street, Oko-Oba at midnight with cutlass, banging on the door and injured some of them in an attempt to rob them. Fortunately, he was overpowered by the residents who later handed him over to the vigilante group in the street. The group, on their part, tied him till the following day when they would take him to Abattoir Police Station.
Crime Alert gathered that the robbery suspect, unfortunately, gave up the ghost before daybreak. The development, however, sparked off strong protest by his colleagues said to be members of commercial motorcycle riders association popularly called okada.
Armed with dangerous weapons, such as guns, cutlasses, axes and planks, they reportedly stormed the area around 7 am on Monday, unleashing mayhem on the residents while several people were seriously injured during the rampage.
Reports also said the armed miscreants invaded some apartments and looted properties which monetary value are yet to be ascertained including huge sums of money carted away from traders and residents of the areas.
Eyewitnesses said the looted properties by the miscreants ranged from Television sets, Radio, Video CD, Video Games, mobile phones and decorated bulbs. They were also said to have destroyed some heavy properties which they could not easily loot after which they openly threatened to carry out more attacks in the area.
Meanwhile, the threats by the miscreants had thrown confusion into the areas, making most of the residents to desert their houses located at Folorunsho, Adebari, Ilogbo Streets and Egbatedo Road.
One of the victims who narrowly escaped death in the hands of the hoodlums identified as Mr. Segun Akinoyode shed more light on the incident. He said: “I was inside my room when suddenly, I heard noise from outside and that was around 4am but I didn’t come out, not until in the morning .
I was so afraid because the noise was too much. I learnt that the man who died was beaten and matcheted to death. I was told that before the man died, some people had reported the case at Abattoir Police Station . I also learnt that the man sustained injuries before he started behaving like a mad person and broke the door of number 7, Adeketu Street, vandalizing everything.
People wondered what was wrong with the man after stories spread that he had earlier jumped into the sucker away and later came out. During that period, some security guards in the street interfered and later tied him with a rope. Later in the morning, I learnt that the man died.”
He continued, “Later in the day, a group of riders who were three on each bike and armed with cutlasses and guns started inflicting injuries on anybody they sighted. They were more than hundred in number. And during the stampede that followed, many people were seriously injured, both those who were cut by the hoodlums and those trying to jump fences and escape for their life.
Yet, the hoodlums were threatening to come back at night until they kill one person that would follow the deceased before they put everything on rest. It only took the intervention of God for me not to be shot dead because they invaded our house and my door is the next to be entered when I jumped fence. Now that they were threatening of more attacks, we can not take that for granted because those hoodlums who caused much havoc in these areas can also kill.
Another victim, a food seller, Mrs. Afolabi popularly called Iya Afusat who lost N27,500 and both cooked and bags of raw food stuffs during the stampede narrated her ordeal. “In fact, those hoodlums had caused me a lot of problems now.
All the money I kept in my wardrobe, they have stolen it. I kept N21.000 and N6,500 separately. The N21.000 was a daily contribution kept with me while the N6,500 was the sales I made this morning. The hoodlums poured away my soup, cooked rice and beans which were meant for sales.
Also, many crates of raw eggs were broken including raw rice and beans poured into the gutter. The bread I just collected in the morning were also poured into the gutter. Those hoodlums destroyed my properties and made me to run into debt.
I didn’t offend them. I only came out in the morning to make my daily sales only for me to see them with cutlasses, guns and axes, saying that the residents of this area had killed their member. And what I knew was that one mad person invaded number 7, Adeketu Street and he was detained and later died.
I didn’t know the time of the incident, I was asleep then because the incident happened at midnight. So, I want government to help me because I have ran into debt now. Bags of raw rice and beans I bought on credit had been poured into the gutter including meat, fishes and raw eggs,” she stated.
A civil servant, Mr. Akinbode Akinloye who owned a game center in the area also recounted his ordeal According to him, “This morning, I was at work at Alausa when I received calls that some of my properties have been carted away and others destroyed by some Okada riders; that they injured many people and destroyed houses including my shop.
So, I quickly went to Abattoir Police Station to report the case and when I got there, I was asked to write a statement which I did. Till now, the police have not provided any solution or made arrests and those hoodlums were still vowing to carry out more attacks in the area, even to kill people because of one mad person.
The funniest part of it is that when the hoodlums came for the second attack around 12 noon, policemen were on ground with their vehicles without making any arrest or preventing them from injuring people. I was actually badly affected because they took away some of my properties and destroyed my shop.
I was perplexed over the situation and the way police is handling the matter because they have not made any arrest of the hoodlums, instead they arrested innocent people and a nursing mother was among them,”he stated.
When Crime Alert visited the affected areas around 2: 45pm same day, broken bottles and shattered windows and two police vehicles with policemen were seen in the areas.
When contacted the Lagos State Police spokesman, SP Jaiyeoba Joseph, said he has not been informed of the incident. But when Crime Alert visited Abattoir Police Station around 2:15 pm Monday, the DCO declined comment and said, “I’m so sorry, I’m not in authority to give any information on the incident and my DPO who may speak with you is not around”. Meanwhile, seven residents of the area including a nursing mother who were detained when they went to Abattoir Police Station to report the incident were seen in the police station.
