Tajudeen Adebanjo
- 40 vehicles destroyed at Itire, Aguda
- Residents: we can’t sleep anymore
Barely two weeks after over 30 vehicles were vandalised in street fights at Ijeshatedo, Itire-Ikate Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos, hoodlums have struck again.
The rampaging hooligans were said to have destroyed over 40 vehicles at Adekunle Kuye Street, Aguda in Coker-Aguda LCDA and Ogunsami Street, Ijeshatedo.
Residents appealed to Commissioner of Police (CP) Olusegun Odumosun to restore sanity in the communities.
They said they are having sleepless nights.
The latest thugs’ scuffle was said to have started Tuesday night at Adekunle Kuye Street, Aguda.
Eyewitnesses said a serious argument ensued among some boys around 9pm at the christening of a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) member’s baby at the street.
It later degenerated into a free-for-all and exchange of gunfire.
The ceremony was disrupted and many fled.
Some people were said to have sustained injuries.
In a reprisal, hoodlums from Adekunle Kuye Street stormed Ogunsami Street, and vandalised some vehicles.
Over 40 vehicles were said to have been damaged by the thugs on both streets.
A resident said, “The scuffle escalated into an exchange of gunshots and wielding of cutlasses and other dangerous weapons between the miscreants. The hoodlums within seconds caused massive damages to residents’ vehicles parked at both streets.”
Policemen were immediately deployed to the area and soon brought the situation under control.
The team of policemen, The Nation learnt, were led by the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) of Itire and Aguda police stations.
Itire-Ikate LCDA Chairman Dr Ahmed Olanrewaju Apatira and his Coker-Aguda counterpart, Mrs Omobolanle Medinat Akinyemi-Obe jointly condemned “the barbaric act displayed by miscreants.”
Apatira appealed to the residents to be very vigilant and alert security agencies once they are privy to any information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
He said the security of life and property is of the essence to his administration.
“I am committed to nipping this menace in the bud. The police while interacting with the Community Development Associations (CDAs) at the scene hinted that patrols have been increased around those streets that stretch towards the canal of the communities of both local council development areas. Anyone moving around that axis suspiciously will be stopped and if he or she was not able to pass the strict identification test, the person might be arrested for further questioning. This will serve as precautionary measures against the breakdown of law and order,” he said.
Apatira said there was a manhunt for persons involved in violence.
A resident, Bolaji Joseph, said there is need for public enlightenment.
He called for tighter security of the communities “to assist in bringing this immoral act to an end”.
Kenny Idowu urged the council chiefs to do more to curbing the menace.
“Are these hoodlums faceless? Do they come from outer space to wreak havoc? Is Ikate that big that they can’t be mapped out? Do they flee to the underworld after committing these crimes?
“My brother’s minibus was vandalised in such attacks sometime ago, and nobody compensated him,” Idowu said.
Ebuka Okanni said everywhere in Itire-Ikate has been messed up by the hoodlums.
The boys, he said, are between the ages of 12 and 17 years.
“They are just so uncontrollable. It is so bad now that we don’t go out anymore once it is 8pm for fear of being molested and macheted. Sometimes, they are as much as 100 marching down the streets and destroying anything they see,” Okanni said.