Lagos
State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday shut the popular Mile 12 market where
a clash left no fewer than 10 people dead.
A
massive security cordon was weaved around the huge market on Ikorodu Road and
some streets.
Houses,
vehicles and other property were either razed or vandalised by hoodlums.
For
hours, the police battled to return peace to the market and Agiliti, a nearby
community.
The
Rapid Response Squad – the elite team of the Lagos Police – was stretched to
its limit trying to stop the violence.
The
governor ordered restriction of movement in the area to prevent an escalation
of the violence.
Ambode
said last night that calm had been restored and urged Lagosians living in the
area to keep the peace.
The
violence started when a group of boys claiming to be on a reprisal mission,
after an attack on a member of their trade, came with arms to attack the
Agiliti community, which is behind the market.
Most
of the boys in the group are believed to be Hausa traders and urchins.
They
prevented motorists and pedestrians from moving out of the area early in the
morning. They smashed buildings. A school was torched.
The
crisis degenerated to an ethnic dimension and spread on to the everbusy Ikorodu
Road.
It was learnt that the crisis started on Tuesday
afternoon when a commercial motorcyclist hit and injured a boy in Agiliti.
The
police moved in and stopped the crisis that followed around midnight on
Tuesday.
The
fight was said to have continued on Wednesday when three persons were injured.
The
arrival of police vehicles did not stop the warring parties from burning tyres
on the road as midnight approached.
Yesterday
morning, the warring parties resumed their hostilities, this time with sophisticated
weapons.
Not
less than 20 houses were torched. A school was attacked, its building burnt.
Two
security men were said to have been injured in the attack while the students
scampered for safety.
There
were broken bottles everywhere; perishable goods, mostly tomatoes, littered the
roads.
An
eye witness, Wale Olaitan, said: “This morning, we were not allowed to leave
our house. Cars were smashed, people were harassed and bottles were thrown into
our compound.”
A
resident, Segun Mukaila, said over 50 houses were burnt.
“This
started since Wednesday. We were thinking the fight had subsided when we heard
siren. I took my younger brother to school yesterday. On my way, I received a
call that they had resumed. On getting to where my shop is, a carpenter near my
shop had been murdered. I learnt he fell while running and the hoodlums pounced
on him and burnt him alive.”
Two
primary school pupils were allegedly killed on the bridge near Agiliti. A
19-month-old baby identified as Daniel Igba, was snatched from his father who
was severely beaten and knifed on his head.
Besides
the two school children, it was gathered that about five people, including a
man identified as Jelili who an eyewitness said was hacked to death, were
killed. Two traders were also killed. Scores of people were injured.
It was learnt that about 20 houses were set
ablaze, 27 vehicles-15 buses and 12 cars were razed. Among them were five
vehicles parked in the premises of a Cherubim and Saraphim Church, which was
torched.
A
plumber, Stephen Friday, who said he was busy at Lekki when he was contacted
about the crisis, claimed that his 40-year-old mother, Cecilia, was missing.
There
was hardly any street from Mile 12 Bus Stop up to Oremeran, Oyeniran, Ilaje,
Awoye and beyond the bridge to Maidan that did not feel the impact of the
mayhem.
On
the other side of Mile 12, weapons-totting hoodlums looted traders’ wares and
cash.
As
people scampered for safety, perishables, such as tomatoes, onions and yams,
were thrown off. Shattered glasses from vandalised vehicles, shops and houses
littered the area.
Trucks
and wheelbarrows were used to evacuate the injured.
As
at 4:30pm yesterday, displaced residents in the neighbourhood were relocating,
for fear of another attack.
A
man who gave his name as Sunday Nejo said it was impossible for him to stay in
the community with his family, adding that he had never seen so much
destruction in his life.
Despite
the massive security presence and the curfew put in place by the state
government, the residents expressed fears that the fight might continue.
A
community leader, Mr. Yomi Odegbami said he saw the attackers hack Jelili, 30.
“Although
this fight started three days ago, they were not as fierce as they became when
the police arrived.
In
Maidan, some armed boys who had red clothes on their heads were booing security
agents stationed across the bridge.
FOR MORE STORIES VISIT
CKN NEWS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:
Twitter: @CKNNigeria
Facebook: CKNNigeria
CKN NEWS Hotline:
08080054001
Whatsapp: 08099677755
BBM : 2BE329DF
Website: www.cknnigeria.com