Tension in Lagos as communities clash

Posted by admin Lagos, State News Saturday, June 30th, 2012

llaje Road after the clash

There was confusion in Ilaje community in the Bariga area of Lagos last weekend as two rival cults – the Downtown Boys and Shaggy Boys – engaged in a violent struggle for supremacy. Eyewitnesses recount that sporadic gunshots rent the air as the clash raged for several hours at a stretch.

CRIME DIGEST gathered that the bone of contention between the two feuding groups was the control of the community, which is populated by sand dredgers, tipper drivers and fishermen. The community is considered to be viable because of the revenue being generated from the residents activities.

Some residents of the community said the clashes between both groups, sometimes resulting in the loss of lives, had persisted since 2003.

Ever since a son of the late Baale of Ilaje, Segun Opere, aka Shaggy, was arrested in 2011 by the police, tension had been brewing in the community.

Shaggy was said to be in control of the trading section of the community before his arrest. His group collected levies from petty business concerns in the area and also indulged in sea piracy.

However, with Shaggy temporarily out of the way, the Downtown Boys, led by one Ismaila Aromire, aka Asunmo, took charge of revenue collection in the area.

The fragile peace was broken only last week when some of the Downtown Boys allegedly attacked a councillor in the Ilaje Local Government Council, Mr. Andrew Ojajuni, in his home last Thursday.

In an interview with CRIME DIGEST, Ojajuni said the group’s grievance was that he did not make any provision for them during the council’s poverty alleviation programme in May.

He said, “Last Wednesday, my house was attacked. I wasn’t at home at the time. When I returned on Thursday morning and noticed the damage to my property, I asked my family what happened. They told me that robbers had come the night before.

“I decided to report the incident at the police station. Before I could even leave my house, about 15 street urchins swooped on my home. They were armed. They beat me up, tore my clothes, and destroyed any property that they could lay their hands on.

“I was really shocked by the incident because these persons are known to me and the Ilaje community. They all grew up in our midst. Their grouse with me was that during the poverty alleviation programme which was celebrated on May 29, I did not keep anything for them. The council chairman usually makes provision in the budget to buy things like sewing machines and other vocational tools for persons who cannot afford to set up their own businesses. The equipment is often given out to the less privileged in the community.”

CRIME DIGEST investigations show that after Ojajuni had lodged a complaint with the Lagos Police Command, a team of policemen from the Special Anti-Robbery arrested Aromire.

Residents of the community heaved a sigh of relief after Aromire was taken away by the police.

“Aromire and his group have been involved in so many robberies within Ilaje and Somolu. They have been harassing and robbing residents and dispossessing okada riders of their motorcycles,” a resident told our correspondent.

Recalling the circumstances that led to the recent fighting in the community, he continued, “When Aromire was captured by the police, the Downtown Boys regrouped and armed themselves for a rescue mission. This was about 5.30 to 6 pm. They assumed that he was detained in the Bariga Police Station and marched towards the place. Unfortunately, they ran into Shaggy Boys on the way and a fight ensued.

“The Downtown Boys retreated to the Ilaje end of St. Finbarrs’ College Road and ran into the police there. It was during this standoff that three persons were killed and Ibrahim Balogun aka Small Jpron, another principal leader of the Downtown Boys, was wounded.”

CRIME DIGEST gathered that the Downtown Boys relocated to Fola Agoro Street in Somolu after they were dislodged from the Bariga area by the police. Some of the hoodlums were said to have relocated to Ponraele, a ghetto in the Somolu area.

Despite the presence of police patrol vehicles in Ilaje community, the warring factions still manage to find ways to foment trouble.

A resident said, “Yesterday there were about 15 patrol vehicles all over Ilaje and Bariga to maintain peace. Yet these boys manage to find ways to stalk themselves. This is because there are many dark spots in Oko Cole, Orita Fogo and Odunsi and they are close to the river in Bariga. The warring groups are able dodge the police patrols through these places and still wage war on each other.

“Last Sunday, there was yet another fight at the Ilaje riverside, towards Odunsi. There were causalities on both sides. When the Downtown Boys went to bury their dead at Atan Cemetery that same day and met the Shaggy Boys, another fight almost broke out. Both groups usually recruit hired hands to help them in their fights. When these hired hands are killed in battle, no one misses them because they are not from the area. This situation is not helped at all by all the shanties surrounding the river, which the state government is supposed to pull down.”

As casualties mount on both sides, the possibility of retaliatory attacks increases. In spite of the presence of the police, residents of the community still live in fear of another outbreak of violence.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer Deputy Superintendent Ngozi Braide confirmed the crisis at Ilaje to CRIME DIGEST. She said, “There was a clash between some armed groups at Ilaje and the police was called in to contain the crisis. The last clash took place on Sunday when two persons were killed and three more wounded. Before the RRS team from Bariga got to the scene, the cultists had escaped. The dead were moved to the mortuary while the wounded victims were taken to the hospital by the police.

“Presently, there are patrol vehicles at Ilaje being manned by the RRS and the anti robbery police. We are also being assisted by the marine police who are patrolling the ocean; the cultists usually use the ocean to make a quick getaway after perpetrating any crime. Everything is in place to maintain law and order.”wp_posts