- They killed three night guards, two residents in two months
For the people of Iju-Ishaga in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, it’s now ill-advised for any resident of the area to go to bed at night with his two eyes closed for a sound sleep-a luxury that they can no longer afford with the recent development.
Lately, suspected armed robbers operate freely and with impunity in the area sharing boundaries with the neighbouring Lagos State, killing residents and night guards at will.
Specifically, the residents of Iju-Ishaga have, in the last three months, been under siege from suspected robbers and accusing fingers are being pointed at a cult group known as ‘Awawa boys.’
Almost like the Ikorodu case of the notorious Badoo cult, Awawa members comprise boisterous young men and women in their 20s, early 30s and even teenagers, who loiter around the neighbourhood between 7pm and 8pm daily, to dispossess revelers at joints, beer parlours or social functions of their valuables.
They move around with dangerous weapons like guns, machetes, daggers, clubs, cudgels and, according to sources, assorted dangerous charms.
But the activities of the ‘awawa boys’ have now reached a deadly dimension, as they rob residents of the area virtually on a daily basis.
Two months ago, in an all-night operation in the Ogun State-axis of the border community of Okeayo/Odunbaku Ishaga, they killed a security guard and a resident, dispossessing their victims and injuring many of them.
Only last week, too, the ‘Awawa boys’ were at it again, as they, in only one night, killed three persons and robbed no fewer than 18 homes, a bloody incident that made many residents to flee the area.
Two night guards were reportedly killed in what seemed a deliberate ploy to kill off all the night guards and gain unhindered access to their victims in the area.
One of the night guards, a sexagenarian identified as Yusuf, but popularly known as Baba Elehoro, was tied to a stake and executed by the suspected robbers. Anguished residents gathered the following day to watch the horrifying scene.
The case of another of the night guards, said to be a brother-in-law to the owner of an Ikeja, Lagos-based television station, also evoked much pity. Widely known as ‘Engineer,’ being a welder, the man was also a housing agent, but chose to take to the night guard job for vocation. He was said to have been gunned down and then, sliced with machetes by his attackers.
While raiding at night, it was learnt that a man was ordered by the robbers to part with money or his wife would be raped. Though the man had N50, 000 cash at home, he insisted he was broke. One of the robbers then raped his wife in his presence, a situation that saddened the woman and made her to move out of the family house and file for a divorce.
“Up till now, her church pastor has been appealing to her to change her mind, all to no avail,” a source disclosed.
Infuriated by the constant robbery cases, many residents of the area said they were displeased with the police in both the Lagos and Ogun State commands.
“They are treating us here as nobody, and they are fond of extorting money rather than attend to their primary responsibility of providing security for the people,” a resident alleged.
A community leader in the area, who craved anonymity, said the police division in Ajuwon, Ogun State, which was supposed to provide security for residents of Okeeayo/Odunbaku community, claimed they were ignorant of the fact that the area was within their jurisdiction.
“It was after we had lost five lives that the police suddenly realised that they were in charge of our area and they came to make some arrests,” he said.
Also, another resident who would not like to be quoted for fear of reprisal from the ‘awawa boys,’ complained of “the nonchalance of anti-riot policemen from the Iju (Red House) Division to constantly patrol our area, even if only the Lagos side of the divide, at night.”
He said it was more appalling realising that the Community Development Associations of the areas made monthly monetary contributions to assist the police with logistics support.
The residents, as such, called on both Governors Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos and his Ogun counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, “to come to our aid before these awawa boys destroy all of us.”
Cornelius Olayide,
Iju/Ishaga, Lagos
