Ritual killers scare: Residents move on, revive nightlife

IT has been months since shocking discoveries of underground spots used by suspected kidnappers/ritualists were made at the Lagos City’s areas of Obadeyi-Ajala and Ile Zik which are located along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Lagos.

The ripples of the two discoveries, which happened within days of each other, continued to be felt by everyone who witnessed or heard about them, especially since the two “dungeons” were located in busy sections of the expressway.

Saturday Tribune visited the two areas during the week with a view to finding out how the residents were dealing with the experience that caused for many of them, feelings of fear, horror and distress.

At Obadeyi-Ajala, the residents appeared to have put the ugly incident behind them after all. Everyone was moving about his/her business. At both ends of the ever-busy road, business activities went on as usual. Commercial bus operators were picking and dropping passengers without any hitches. The initial indignant reaction that greeted the discoveries of the underground kidnappers/ritualists’ dens there seemed to have vanished.

It will be recalled that days after the shocking discoveries, the Obadeyi and Ajala bus stops and their environs became a beehive of activities as curious residents as well as police personnel besieged the neighbourhood and the entrances of the underground dens in particular. No single policeman was in sight during Saturday Tribune’s midweek visit to the neighbourhood.

Further investigation also showed that nightlife, which was lost following the incident months back, has also returned to the neighbourhood. Perhaps buoyed, as earlier indicated, by the ‘elimination’ of the kidnappers/ritualists from their dens, which were mainly a gigantic underground drainage system that runs through the entire neighbourhood and beyond, residents now operate even around the spot till late at night.

It was gathered that even a pub (beer parlour) situated close by, and which was said to have recorded a massive decline in patronage, has once again sprung to life and now operates late into the night. In a nutshell, business and other forms of day-to-day activities have returned to the Obadeyi-Ajala end of the expressway.

It was rumoured that those who usually fell victims to the kidnappers/ritualists were often those heading out early in the morning or those returning home late at night. But from all indications, both categories of residents have gone back to their habits. Speaking with Saturday Tribune, one of the residents who identified himself as Anuoluwa Ayodele, confirmed that life had pretty much returned to normal in the neighbourhood.

“For weeks after the discovery of the den, many people feared to stay at the bus stops at both sides of the expressway at odd hours. You found people disappearing from the roads as darkness grew. But now, things have pretty much returned to normal, as people now stay at the bus stops and the roads very late at night,” he said. Ayodele’s view was corroborated by a bartender in a pub close by, who said that things had eventually returned to the way they were in the pub before the discovery of the den.

The bartender, who gave his name simply as IK, admitted that customers kept the bar, which is situated very close to the expressway at Ajala area, at arms’ length weeks after the discovery. But he added that business had picked up over the months as nightlife had since returned to the community. “Weeks after the discovery of the den, business took a turn for the worse as virtually all our customers stayed away. But now, things have picked up significantly; it is now very common to see people still moving around as late as 11.30 p.m.,” the bartender said.

The situation was the same at the Ile Zik area of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, which also overlooks the popular Agege Motor Road, where another den was discovered just days after the Obadeyi-Ajala’s discovery. Motorists and especially pedestrians could be seen moving around at different times of the day.

The Ile Zik area understandably has less human activities compared to Obadeyi-Ajala, as it is largely non-residential in nature. Nevertheless, residents who live close by as well as pedestrians walking within touching distance of the den appeared to have forgotten that only a couple of months back, none would have dared to move anywhere around the den from 8.00 p.m. upward. However, Saturday Tribune observed that even at after 10.00 p.m., people moved around the spot that served as the entrance of the den.

A vulcaniser operating close by confirmed that nobody was even acting like such a frightening discovery was made there recently anymore. “Everyone has moved on. I open for the day as early as 7.00 a.m. and close at around 7.00 p.m., and throughout this period people move around without any problem. There is no panic from any quarters. So, from all indications, everyone has moved on. However, I would still advise people to tread with caution not just here but anywhere in Lagos, because evil people could be anywhere, even in the least expected places,” he said.

Lagosians need not fear anymore –Police

Meanwhile, the police are seeing the decision of the people to forget about both incidents and be going about their normal businesses as a sign of improved security presence in the state.

Speaking in a telephone chat with Saturday Tribune, the Police Public Relations Officer PRO in Lagos State, Mr Chike Oti, said the decision of residents of the two places to be moving around even at night was a testament that the enhancement of police visibility at every time of the day by the Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, was working.

“The incidents you were referring to happened over four months ago, before the current CP was appointed. So, for people to have the confidence to be moving around anytime they wish is a credit to the current CP.

“You will recall that the CP, since his appointment, has seen to it that patrol vehicles are deployed in different parts of Lagos. You see all these personnel and vehicles everywhere in the state, even in the night. These patrol vehicles serve as mini-police stations which anybody can approach and lodge complaints.

“Since the CP came on board, response time of police personnel to incidents has improved significantly. All these have made people to believe more in the security system in the state, and hence, they can move around anytime they wish. Therefore, nightlife is improving in Lagos and this is a sign that people have faith in the new CP, his vision and what he has put on the ground,” Oti said.

In August, two persons were set ablaze when the suspected ritual kidnappers’ underground den was found in the Obadeyi-Ajala area. Three persons were arrested. The ritualists ran into trouble when a highway sweeper with the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) heard a woman calling for help from the canal. Two of the suspects caught inside the den were set ablaze by a mob. The others were taken to the Alakuko Police Station.

Days after, another suspected ritualists’ den was uncovered at Ile Zik Bus Stop, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. In this particularly incident, a lunatic was almost lynched by a mob which insisted that he was feigning madness, especially after he was allegedly caught making suspicious calls on an expensive mobile phone.