Kunle ADELABU
-About 12 suspects now in police custody, others on the run
-Woman caught with Drugs, 6 wrist watches, 6 phones, N200,000 cash
-Criminals’ hideouts discovered, to be pulled down
The authorities of the Ikorodu Local Government and Ikorodu Divisional Police have declared total war on drug peddling and Bases in Ikorodu.
This was the fallout of the violence that engulfed the community between the night of Friday, April 27 and early morning of Saturday, April 28, 2018, when two groups of hoodlums from two of the notorious areas of Ikorodu (Ojurowo and Eti—Gutter) violently engaged themselves in a bloody supremacy war, destroying over 30 vehicles as well as beaten innocent residents and robbed them of their possessions.
Two members of these rival groups sustained serious injuries and were still were still receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Ikorodu, as at the press time.
The two members are Eleku from Ojurowo whose two fingers were cut off and was also badly injured and Tunde from Eti-Gutter whose head and neck were severely battered by the opponents.
It was also reported that the two suspects were handcuffed to the their treatment beds to prevent them from escaping.
More so, one of the hoodlums was also said to have been killed and his corpse taken away by his colleagues.
THE IMPACT also gathered that one Okanla, an Indian hemp seller at Ajina, was among those arrested and that he was arrested with some drugs in possession.
Furthermore, it was also learnt that the wife of one of the chieftains of the hoodlums popularly called Ussan, who is a major suspect in the mayhem that led to the destruction of properties worth several millions of naira has also been arrested by the police.
She was said to have been caught selling some of the wines allegedly stolen from the shop of Miss Monsurat Alli-Balogun, one of the two traders who shops were raided by the hoodlums on the night of the mayhem.
Two days after the ugly incident, Hon. Wasiu Adeshina, the Chairman, Ikorodu Local Government, led a team which included the Divisional Police Officer, Mr Lawal, the Ikorodu Local Government head of Administration, Mr Adekunle Dipe, Secretary to the Ikorodu Local Government, Alhaji Lateef Afinni, Council Leader, Hon. Samal Ayobami, Councilor representing Ward C, Hon. Omotayo Awolesi, other councilors and senior officials of the Ikorodu Local Government and some selected reporters to inspect the scenes of the incident.
During the inspection, about six shops and hideouts of the suspects were discovered.
Both the hideouts and the shops were forcefully opened by the inspection team and items found in them were confiscated while drinks made with hard drugs, such as codein, were turned inside the gutter.
Hon. Adeshina and the DPO, while addressing residents of the affected areas during the inspection, declared war on sales of drugs in Ikorodu and also banned joints and bases.
Hon. Adesina, while speaking with THE IMPACT shortly after the inspection, confirmed the ban on sales of drugs while also explaining that the hoodlums that perpetrated the mayhem also took advantage of the situation to steal and brutalize innocent residents.
“The scene was an unfortunate one and I have to visit the scene in the company of the DPO Lawal, the Divisional Police Officer for Ikorodu. What I discovered as the cause of the mayhem was a dispute between Ojurowo and Eti-Gutter”, Hon. Adesina stated.
“It wasn’t just the dispute because robbery and assault were also involved because many innocent people were attacked and shops and homes vandalized which made people to complain bitterly during the visit”.
“From all these indications, we must stop the operation of bases in Ikorodu because there actions are inimical to peaceful co-existence. The whole mayhem stemmed out of rivalry among these bases and for the interest of peace, they have to go”, he said while declaring ban on the bases and joints.
He then appealed to members of the public to assist the police and law enforcement agencies in apprehending the culprits.
“I want to appeal to the residents of the affected areas to cooperate with the police in identifying the culprits” he appealed.
He said the incident has made the residents of the affected areas to be living in fears.
“The residents are still living in a state of fear. House and shops were attacked and many residents were badly beaten”.
Speaking on how the council is trying to restore normalcy in the affected areas and prevent the reoccurrence of the incident in Ikorodu, Hon. Adeshina stated that he has directed the men of the Nigeria Police and Onyabo Vigilante group to carry out a 24 hours patrol and surveillance in the affected areas.
“I have directed men of the Nigeria Police and the local vigilance group, Onyabo, to start 24hours surveillance of the affected areas and adjoining communities. We also discovered many hideouts of these criminal elements and we agreed to demolish them to prevent them from returning to them. We also discovered some shops where they are selling hard drugs and drinks like codein, skushes, Indian hemp, marijuana among others. Most of these shops were forcefully opened and these hard drinks and drugs were brought out”.
Speaking on the arrest of some of the suspects, Hon. Adeshina stated that six people have so far been arrested.
“I was reliably informed that six of the suspects have been arrested by the police and actions are ongoing to make them face the law. In fact, I was told that their case file is being prepared to be sent to the Police headquarters in Lagos”.
When asked if there is going to be any form of compensation or assistance for the victims of the incident, the Council Chairman said that the major focus of the council is to restore normalcy to the areas and ensure the security of lives and properties.
“Our major concern is to first bring back sanity and peace into the area and thereafter, we are going to inform the state about the development and then wait for the action they would take in assisting the victims”.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, May 3, 2018, (yesterday), THE IMPACT gathered that more than 12 suspects have been arrested with the help of chieftains of the local vigilance group, Onyabo, led by Lanre Olabinjo and Olalekan Pelumi.
The suspects, according to report, have been handed over to the police for further investigations.
THE IMPACT also gathered that the Council is working with the men of the Nigerian police in Ikorodu and the Onyabo vigilance group to demolish abandoned structures and hideouts of the suspects in the areas of the incident to prevent them from returning to them or serve as hideouts for criminal elements.
