Christmas and New Year celebrations might have come and gone but some residents of Ajegunle area of Lagos State are still licking their wounds and counting their losses. What was supposed to be a season of joy eventually turned a nasty experience for the residents as over 200 robbers armed with different weapons, including guns, cutlasses and bottles attacked the residents of the community, leading to the death of no fewer than four people during the period.
An eyewitness, Kamoru Fakorede, said, “The recent attack began on Saturday, December 22, 2018, when some armed robbers attacked residents at Layinka, Oduduwa, Barra, Baale Aiyetoro, Olowojeunjeje, Ijaiye, and Arumo streets, respectively, among others, cutting many people with cutlasses while injuring others with bottles, broken tiles.”
“What appeared to be recurring on a daily basis got worse on December 24, 2018 when the hoodlums began to raid the community from different locations.
“Some unlucky people who went to church returned either to their homes in blood or landed in various hospitals. One motorcycle rider was attacked around Achapo area of the community and the hoodlums slaughtered him in cold blood. After killing him, they escaped with his commercial motorcycle. Before the man could be rushed to the hospital, he gave up the ghost.”
Another eyewitness, who identified himself as Chukwuka Nnorum, said, “On the Christmas Day, their nefarious activities increased when the hoodlums held residents of Layinka, Oduduwa, Barra, Baale, Sanusi, Ijaiye, Arumo, streets, among others hostage. The armed robbers were breaking into shops, rooms from one house to another, looting property, including deep freezers, televisions, fans, provisions, among others. If not for soldiers, I don’t know what would have happened by now. Those robbers were ready to kill anybody that stood against their way. The soldiers came, firing at them and they began to run in different directions.”
“The robbers also smashed the windscreens of vehicles in the areas, removing some parts from the vehicles. At Oduduwa Street alone, eight vehicles were vandalised while at Layinka Street four vehicles were affected.”
The Divisional Police Officer of Ajegunle Police Station, CSP Olubisi Oyedepo, who was informed about the attack, was said to have led a team of policemen to the scene but the robbers were said to have attacked the policemen with bottles and broken tiles and chased them away with their guns and cutlasses.
He said the police left the scene at Oduduwa, Layinka and Baale streets and reinforced but all to no avail.
He said the robbers continued their illegal activities around 2am on Christmas Day till about 3.30am.
He said soldiers were deployed to the scenes at dawn where they allegedly killed no fewer than three suspected armed robbers.
“Soldiers shot one man across his jaw at Alafia Street and he was rushed to a private hospital where doctors referred him to the General Hospital. He later died in the hospital,” he said.
He added that many people were injured or shot by the hoodlums who opened fire and attacked with cutlasses.
According to him, the area became calm until December 31, 2018, when the hoodlums revisited the area, challenging everybody to call the police, and chanting “Go and call your police” as they operated.
Some of the owners of vehicles vandalised were identified as Papa Morayo, Pastor Ette, Kabiru, Bashiru, and Ade.
Pastor Ette, whose Range Rover was vandalised at Oduduwa Street, said, “May God forgive them. It is now on a daily basis that these hoodlums would be attacking the residents and looting their properties. They smashed the windscreen of my vehicle. They were over 200. What can one do? But Government should do something about them.”
Papa Morayo, whose commercial Volkswagen LT bus was painted in Lagos commercial colour, said, “This is not the first time these set of robbers had smashed the windscreen of vehicles of residents at Oduduwa Street. Now, I have to go again and buy the windscreens. The other day, they vandalised two Toyota Yaris here, removing the brain boxes and some other parts. The criminals are making life unbearable for us. Government should do something. Police could not shoot. So what are they doing with AK-47 riffles when people armed with cutlasses and, may be, locally-made guns would be chasing them away during a serious operation?”
A woman, Mama Azeeza, said, “On that Christmas Day, I was in my shop at Layinka when these robbers held me hostage. I watched as they carried my property around to 8am. They carried my hot drinks and other beverages. They have carried away my poverty.”
A woman, known as Chibest who has her shop at Oduduwa Street, said she never knew that her shop had been raided by the hoodlums. She lives in another street and had gone to church when the criminals came to operate at Oduduwa Street. They carted away her generating set, provisions, television, video compact disk.
