With empty stomachs, Lagos residents confront rising criminalities

It is a classical case of double jeopardy. While seeking to survive the hunger and lack brought about by the coronavirus stay-at-home order, criminals raiding homes presents a new reality to their obedience. OLALEKAN OLABULO, TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE, AKIN ADEWAKUN, SEGUN KASALI, SUBAIR MOHAMMED report.

IN Surulere community of Lagos State, a letter which is in public domain is creating a lot of anxiety and the vibration is being felt all over the state. A prominent cult group in the state known as 100 Million Boys of Nigeria had written to residents of the community that produced the nation’s number four man, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, notifying them of an imminent visit.

The letter entitled ‘To whom it may concern’, reads: “We the above-named will be visiting you this week, so we advise you to comply and prepare for our coming. If you try to contact the police or any other security, (it) means it will be bloody for everyone there. Bear it in mind that we are dangerous and can take any risk of action. If you comply with us, everything will work accordingly and there will be no lost (sic) of life and injuries. Just give us want (sic) we are coming for and we go in peace. Thanks in anticipation. Yours sincerely, Chairman, 100 Million Boys, Surulere”.

Midway into the first phase of the lockdown declared in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari over the coronavirus pandemic, crime in Lagos suddenly witnessed a frightening jump, with many communities in the state being visited day and night by criminal elements in the garb of cultists and residents being robbed dry of what they were keeping for sustenance during the stay-at-home period, which has now been extended to April 27.

Before the announcement by the president of an extension on Monday, the overwhelming cries all over the state had shifted from pangs of hunger to Save-Our-Soul (SOS) messages to both the Nigerian leader and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as criminal elements like those who allegedly authored the letter above literally grew wings, terrorising communities and residents in broad daylight, with the state authorities appearing helpless. All over the social media, residents wailed and in communities, agile men decided to defend their space if the government would not do anything. With bonfires in many places, young and agile old men moved about menacingly in the open despite the stay-at-home order, with dangerous weapons, waiting for the dangerous boys to show their faces. In the middle of this stand-off, the state government publicly acknowledged that the coronavirus epidemic had brought a new security challenge which it promised would be tackled.

Bright morning raids

Despite the assurances by the governor, on Thursday afternoon, at about 12.40, a Twitter user, Oluwakemi Adekunle, writing under @hadaassah_star, while conducting a live reporting, raised the alarm that a broad-daylight robbery was ongoing around Oko Filling, Igando. A torrent of comments followed with one Official Sunny_Riches disclosing that police and soldiers were already on their way there. Another Twitter user, Segun Maspherson, using @itsmaspherson, said “I stay close to that side”.

The above scenario represents the new reality the state is grappling with. From community to community, especially on the mainland of the state, the concern now is mainly about how to safeguard lives and properties from the armed hoodlums on the rampage.

In the last two weeks, armed robbery attacks have been reported in Ahmaddiya, Ijaiye, Agege, Mangoro, Ifako, Agbado, Ikorodu, Oshodi, Isheri Oshun, Ogudu, Okota, Ojota, Iyana Ipaja and other places with no fewer than three people killed in the attacks.

The robbery attacks have been blamed on the activities of the notorious Awawa Boys in Agege and neighbouring communities, One Million Boys in Alimosho and neighbouring communities as well as area boys who hide under the guise of protecting their communities to rob and loot belongings of residents.

The police in the state have not only denied the reported widespread robbery operations but assured residents of their safety. Worried by high rate of the criminality, the Inspector General of Police had to deploy tactical squads and a deputy inspector general of police to stem the tide.

Saturday Tribune investigations revealed that groups, including cult groups and transport union members who, before the lockdown, had been having disagreements are now taking advantage of the present situation to unleash mayhem on the residents. One person was killed last week in the Ahmaddiya area of the state as two rival cult groups clashed. The hoodlums took advantage of the situation to attack and rob residents of the area while the bloody battle lasted.

A commercial tricycle operator who identified himself simply as Ojo told Saturday Tribune that “there was actually robbery but it was some cult guys and their rivals around Maicon area that were fighting. They only took advantage of the situation to rob people”.

A resort to self-defence

In another incident, residents of Aboru had to be on alert last Tuesday to prevent robbery in their community as two factions of motorcycle unions from Mosan and Aboru clashed. One person was killed in the clash but the armed youths who had come to avenge the death of their colleague resorted to looting and robbing people of their money and other valuables.

A community leader in the Fagba area of Agege, James Babarinde, told Saturday Tribune that “the fact is that we have not had any major robbery attack on any of our houses but we have had an instance where we chased the Awawa Boys away. Nobody knew where they were coming from or going to but there was a large number of them.”

Babarinde added: “Members of this community have formed a vigilante group and we keep vigil. Some days ago, some aboki boys who stay on Agric Road chased some Awawa Boys away. Before now, the Awawa Boys used to pass here and rob on the railway tracks at times but they didn’t break into homes. They were going that day and the Hausa boys thought that they were coming to rob and they chased them away.”

Fasan Sileola, a community development association member in the Igbo Olomu area of Ikorodu told Saturday Tribune that “we do have constant burglaries but not major robberies. Almost every day, there are reported cases of burglary. These boys tear burglary net and steal. They break into homes when owners are not around and steal but we have not had any major robbery.” The CDA member also disclosed that “we are working to complement the security arrangement in neighbouring Elepete community. We were raising funds before the lockdown but we have an arrangement in place for now to ensure safety of lives and property.”

Another resident of Igbo Olomu who pleaded for anonymity while speaking with Saturday Tribune said: “There were a few cases of robbery perpetrated by cult members at Psychiatric Bus Stop. Those cult members converge on Imuti. They are our major problem and concern. They appear in large numbers to scare their victims.”

Community Amotekun?

A community leader in the Olusoga area of Ejigbo, Mr Fadeyi Akanni, bemoaned the security situation in the area, saying the residents had to resort to self- help to protect themselves. He said: “Even before the lockdown was announced, hoodlums had been on the rampage. I had envisaged that things would get worse as there won’t be people on the road to beg from or to rob. Our area has been under tension since Monday when hoodlums attacked Idimu. It was in broad daylight that they stormed Idimu with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons and broke into shops and homes to steal goods and valuables. We had to organise our members to prevent them from coming into our community. Since then, we have been making bonfires and staying up at night.”

Chairman of the Olorunto Landlords, Tenants Association in the Aboru area of Ipaja, Mr Matthew Ajala, stated that the community was not leaving any stone unturned in its efforts at warding off activities of hoodlums in the area. According to him, the executive members of the association on Wednesday met with other street associations’ officers under the umbrella body of Akinola Community Development Association to inaugurate a security committee comprising notable youths on the five streets that make up the CDA: Akinola, Olorunto, Idowu Rafiu, Raji Razak and Seidu Toriola.

The community leader said: “One of the mandates is for them to collaborate with the existing vigilantes in the community for patrol for the period of lockdown since we don’t intend to extend this beyond the lockdown. Interestingly, in the past few days, we have mobilised the community youths to complement the efforts of the vigilantes in the community and the youths have done well”.

Ajala, however, allayed fears that some hoodlums might want to take advantage of such collaboration to foment trouble in the community. According to him, one of the resolutions at the meeting was to compile the names of the youths that would participate in such vigilante activities and forward the list to the divisional police officer in the area. He also stated that although the community had been relatively peaceful, the CDA officers were only putting all those security measures in place to forestall possible attack from hoodlums.

One of the youths that have been involved in the vigilante activities in the past few days, 28-year-old Godwin Mark, said he saw this period as the darkest in the community’s history. Mark, a tenant in the community, stated that he had to join the vigilante group that would patrol the length and breadth of the community from 10.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. because not doing so would do him no good.

“My family is here. I believe strongly that they are safer with me out there helping to secure the community than staying inside the house and waiting to be attacked by hoodlums,” he said. Mark also disclosed that the community had not witnessed any attack but the vigilante activities were a preventive measure.

‘We no longer sleep at night’

The situation at Agbado-Ijaiye and its environs is no different. Residents of the area covering Ike Oluwa, Lambe, Jankara, Kollinghton, Osanyintola, Jagunmolu, Bioyin, Omoyeni, Abiok, Clem Road, Adura and others are no longer sleeping deeply at night. In fact, many, especially the youths, do not even sleep in the night at all. They instead formed vigilance groups, policing their respective communities throughout the night. They move from one street to another and make bonfires at various locations. This practice started in the area just like in many others last week when some hoodlums stormed the area with the purpose of robbing people of their valuables. They said it was meant to prevent attacks on their families during the lockdown.

A community leader who preferred not to be named for security reasons told a story of how luck ran out on a hoodlum whose gang, after robbing residents of the Adura area, killed two of their victims, a man and his teenage child, on a fateful night two weeks ago. According to him, the suspected robber, whose mother was a trader on Ope Ewe Street, was arrested by some youths in the area with jungle justice meted out to him before he could be taken to Ijaiye Police Station for proper action.

“He would have helped the police in their investigations, especially as regards the identities of his fleeing colleagues. We learnt that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) had come to Ijaiye Police Division to take him away but the community didn’t even want him back in their midst,” the community leader said.

It is much ado about little –Police

The Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Bala Elkana, while speaking to Saturday Tribune, denied that there were widespread robbery attacks. He insisted that the videos in circulation on social media were not armed robbery operations but activities of vigilante groups that were formed by different communities in the state.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered the Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) “to maintain constant motorised patrol of all parts of their jurisdictions”.

Elkana added: “I also saw some of these videos. Where are the robberies taking place? People are just panicking. I receive hundreds of calls every day from people about robbery attacks. When we investigated some of those calls, we found out that people were only responding to fake information on the social media. Residents are just panicking.

“There have been reports of robberies in Ogba, Agege, Mongoro, Igando and other places. The CP led other security chiefs to these places and when we enquired from the community leaders, they denied any robbery attack on their communities. All of them are just setting bonfires to scare perceived armed robbers. What they all kept saying was ‘we heard’. No single community told us that armed robbers had attacked them in their homes.

“We are assuring residents of their safety. The CP has deployed tactical squads to complement the activities of area commands and divisions. He has also increased the motorised patrol and motorbikes along the major roads in the state. We are not taking anything for granted”.

Ijaniki residents robbed, Ajeromi dwellers protest

Contrary to Elkana’s claim, residents of Ijaniki were reportedly robbed on Tuesday at about 11.00 p.m. The attack kept the residents awake and forced them to become their own security.

Similar claims were made by the residents of Egbeda, Iyana Ipaja, Ogba and Agege areas of the state. Akute, a boundary community between Lagos and Ogun, was not left out.

In Ajeromi Ifelodun community, residents, a few days ago, took to the street to protest against hunger and threat to their lives and property.

The chairman of the Community Development Association, Tunde Balogun, in an interview with Saturday Tribune said: “This is the third week into the stay-at-home order. Things are turning from bad to worse. Our people are complaining of hunger while able-bodied young men who have been rendered idle with the lockdown have taken to armed robbery, invading homes and breaking into shops. Since traders among them cannot open their shops to trade, they decided to stage a peaceful protest to my residence to register their displeasure. The truth is, to stay at home is for the benefit of every one of us. It is, however, unfortunate that some unscrupulous elements among residents, out of hunger, have taken to robbery, unleashing terror on members of the community. It is better to go hungry for a short period of time than to be afflicted with the coronavirus disease”.

A victim of a robbery attack in Ajeromi community, Shakirudeen AbdulWasiu, alleged that those responsible for the attack on them were residents of Ajose and Lasisi streets who engaged in street fights as a cover to rob houses. According to him, unlike in the past when they robbed only at night, since the stay-at-home order, they have been robbing people in broad daylight.

He said: “We are in the panic mode in the entire Ajeromi Ifelodun community. If you were familiar with happenings in the community before the lockdown of activities, you will discover that the community was notorious for armed robbery incidents. But the situation became worse with the stay-at-home order. When area boys, bus conductors and drivers are idle, they engage in robbery. They feign argument and street fighting and before we know what is happening, they invade houses and stores and start robbing us of our valuables. We have complained several times to our traditional rulers and the police but they have not done anything to address the challenge. Just yesterday, around noon, they came into my apartment armed with guns and machetes and carted away my home appliances. They raided many houses on Olayinka Street, too. I want to implore the government to put an end to the lockdown because many of these youths are using the opportunity to rob and dispossess innocent residents of their property.”

The atmosphere in Ifako-Ijaye Local Council Development Area, according to the secretary of the Community Development Committee, Prince Ogbabi Fatai, is not only scary but the community is also deserted following gunshots by robbers.

According to Ogbabi, armed robbers, since Saturday, have been invading the community raiding Harmony Estate on College Road in Ifako Ijaye, Elliot Street, Agege-Cement, Capital road and Mangoro road, while carrying POS to rob members of the community of their monies and property.

Fatai sai: “The robbery incidents have been going on for some days now. They have been going from house to house robbing people of their valuables. We can’t sleep because of frequent gunshots that rend the air. Policemen have been parading the areas but they need to be stationed in the community because armed robbery is becoming rampart.

“The robbers no longer come in the night; it is now a daytime affair. We live in fear and we are not able to sleep at night. Some of us have constituted a vigilance group to man our homes from 9.00 p.m. till dawn because you never can tell when they will come around. We have been experiencing robbery attacks in the community but the lockdown has brought about an increase in the rate of the crime. Many of these boys are jobless and hungry but instead of going hungry all day, they decided to rob poor and innocent residents who are hungry as well.

“There is a new dimension to their operation. They move in groups of about 20 or more with POS machines and guns and machetes. They force their way into your house and request for your ATM card and the password, slot the card into the machine and withdraw any amount they find in your account. I am appealing to the government and police to beef up security in Ifako-Ijaye and Agege community. We are hungry and we can’t sleep anymore.”

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