-Over 30 vehicles destroyed, houses damaged, several residents injured
Kunle ADELABU and Wale JAGUN
Hell was let loose on Saturday, April 28, 2018, as residents of Ikorodu township woke up to witness wanton destruction of properties and violence being inflicted on innocent residents by boys from Ojurowo and Eti-Gutter streets, two notorious areas in the town, during a deadly supremacy battle.
Though, no one can state the exact time the violence began, THE IMPACT gathered that it started in the night of Friday, April 27 and lasted till the early morning of the following day as a massive destruction of properties was wrecked on Obun-Ale, Ejina, Kalejaiye/Itunwolo and Itun-Nla areas of Ikorodu town.
THE IMPACT learnt that the crisis was caused due to the supremacy battle between the boys of Eti-Gutter and Ojurowo areas.
“It was a supremacy battle among the hoodlums in Ojurowo and Eti-Gutter areas. These two areas are being controlled by the Eiye boys but there is always battle among them over who is the most notorious” , a resident who claimed to be close to the two sides told our reporter.
Another eye witness who spoke with THE IMPACT stated that the mayhem started in the late hours of Friday and was caused by one Dare, one of the notorious guys in Ojurowo, after he claimed that one Yahoo guy snatched her girl friend.
Dare was reported to have led some of his gang members to a wine shop at Itagbodo, owned by Miss Ali-Balogun, and carted away thousands of wines and other drinks as well as generator sets on the ground that the Yahoo guy used to take his girlfriend there for relaxation.
Two victims were said to have been admitted at the General Hospital in Ikorodu for various degree of injuries inflicted on them by their assailants with one of the victims loosing two fingers.
Properties worth several millions of naira were also destroyed with Miss Monsurat Alli-Balogun and another trader,Mrs Sikirat Banwo, as major victims as their shops were heavily looted and destroyed by the hoodlums.
The major suspects of the mayhem, according to the victims who spoke with our reporters in all the areas visited, are Sapa, Olumide, Okanla, Dare Sobo, Tolu, Ussan and Siro among other suspects.
It was also gathered that the hoodlums who were over 50, moved from one house to the other unleashing violence on their targets while sparing others.
THE IMPACT further gathered that the local vigilance group, Onyabo, have arrested some of the suspects of the mayhem.
The suspects, we gathered, have been handed over to the police authority who were also on ground courtesy of an invitation by Hon. Omotayo Awolesi, the Councilor representing the affected areas.
Mrs Silifat Banwo, a resident of Itun-Nla and one of the two traders whose houses and shops were badly damaged by the hoodlums and whose daughter was equally beating, recounted her ordeal in the hands of the hoodlums.
She stated that the suspects were attacking a shop beside her house while she was peeping through the window to see what was happening but unknown to her, she was the next person on the list of the dare devil boys.
“In the mid night of Friday, April 27, I noticed that there was an attack on the shop beside my house and in an attempt to know what was going on, I peeped through the window and I saw some of the boys using cutlass to hit my window while others started saying that ‘this is mum Sultan’s house who has a shop at Eti-Quarter”, she said while narrating her ordeal.
“Before I could say anything, they forcefully gained entrance into my house while they ransacked and beat everybody and even macheted me”, she stated.
She revealed that she was able to identify her assailants by their street names where they reside in the community.
“They are Ojurowo boys. They are Kalou, Pencil, Sapa, Dunga, Tolu and Iso among many others”, she stated.
She stated that she has never had any issue with her assailants whom she claimed normally eat free of charge in her shop, adding that she sometimes settles rift for them.
“It’s very unfortunate that these same guys that came to attack me usually eat in my shop without paying at times. I also intervened whenever they quarreled among themselves and at times gives them money”, she stated.
“After unleashing mayhem on my home, they again went to my shop and wrecked havoc on it. They opened and spread two bags of rice and a keg of groundnut oil on the floor. They also made away with N45,000 which I kept in my bag. It’s part of the money I normally borrow for my business.
“I need assistance and protection against thses boys because this is not their first time of doing this. I experienced same thing about three weeks ago which I reported to the officials of the Special Anti – Robbery Squad (SARS) in Ikorodu. The police officers came but they could not get them arrested. Since then, they always threaten my children whenever they pass by my house and shops.
“What I have lost to this attack is close to N200,000 and I want the government to bring the culprits to book and assist me to get back into business”, she pleaded.
Another victim, Miss Monsurat Alli-Balogun, who owns a well-stocked wine shop at Itagbodo, while stating that an attack attempt was made on her shop about two weeks ago, claimed that wines worth several thousands of naira were carted away with a new generator.
She was in tears while speaking with THE IMPACT and the Councilor representing the area.
THE IMPACT gathered that her shop was attacked on the order of Dare who claimed that a Yahoo guy who snatched her girlfriend usually take her to drink at her shop.
“They have destroyed my business. They made away with four bottles of Champagne and drank one bottle. Each bottle of the Champagne cost N15,000”, she lamented.
“They also drank one bottle of Hennessy and went away with four bottles; carted away some Tequilla bottles as well as several cartoons of juice drink and other drinks. While a bottle of Hennessy is N15,000, that of Tequila is N75,000”, she stated.
“I also lost my new generating set, an Elepac product, to the hoodlums”, she said tearfully.
She mentioned Dare, Sobo, Tolu, Ussan, Siro and Jelili among other suspects who attacked her shop.
Another victim, Mr Habeeb Ipaye whose Xcape ford jeep was badly damaged, stated that the assailants were pointing to vehicles to be destroyed.
“I heard them saying to themselves which vehicles to be destroyed and which to be spared. At a point, they were telling themselves that this is Baale’s car and should not be touched while also mentioning names of those whose vehicles were to be destroyed”.
Mr Bolaji Badejo, a resident of Kalejaiye/Itunwolo area, conducted our reporters round his house to see the damages done to his house.
“You can see the level of damages. They were unable to gain entrance because of the burglary proof but my neighbor who is an old man was not that luck. They smatched his window and forcefully gained entrance. He was battered while his money was stolen”.
A white clothe soaked with blood was found on the floor of the house.
Another victim, Lookman Gbadamosi who is a member of the Onyabo Vigilante group and popularly called ‘Lukuluku’, alleged that the hoodlums were threatening him because of his membership of the vigilance group.
Some of the eye witnesses account also stated that some of the hoodlums went about with pump action guns and other arms during the mayhem.
Meanwhile, Hon. Omotayo Awolesi, Councilor representing Ward C under which the affected areas falls and the Majority Leader of the Ikorodu Local Government, deplored the level of destruction and brutalization wrecked on innocent victims as well as the trauma inflicted on the old people and children in the area.
“I strongly condemn these dastardly acts on the properties, innocent victims and aged residents all of whom have been recounting their experiences to me since morning because I have been going from one house to the other to know the level of destruction and console my people”, he stated.
“I spoke with the Council Chairman immediately I got the information and he directed me to report the matter to the police which I did. The police quickly swung into action. I also want to thank the officers of the Onyabo Vigilance group for their quick response which has led to some arrests”, Hon. Awolesi added.
“I have also been to the General Hospital to visit the two victims who have been admitted”.
He, however, called on the state government to pay more attention to the two areas involved in the incident which, according to him, have been described as ‘gun powder”.
An elder woman, who also spoke with THE IMPACT, also asked the government to put in place a task force to flush out hoodlums, cultists and drug sellers in Itun-Nla, Ojurowo, Eti-Gutter, Obun-Ale and other adjoining areas.
“The Lagos State Government needs to pay more attention to these areas. The level of hard drugs being consumed is enough for these young men to unleash untold mayhem on the community”.
“They caused serious anxiety for the old people and innocent children in these areas. This is what we have been experiencing but government seems to be unconcerned until the entire community is thrown in pandemonium”, she said.
In a telephone conversation with Hon. Wasiu Adeshina, the Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, he said that the police has been duly notified about the development and that the council is doing everything to restore normalcy in the affected areas.
Prominent houses destroyed in the incident included Gbadamosi family house, Olomo family house and Senator Ganiu Solomon Olanrewaju’s (GOS) family house.
THE IMPACT also gathered that one of the hoodlums was killed in the mayhem.
