By Bisi Oladele, Gbenga Aderanti, Toba Adedeji, Yinka Adeniran and Segun Showunmi
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Survivors of accidental bullets relive ordeal, seek help to settle medical bills
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How we lost our shops to arson days after stocking them for Christmas —Traders
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The untold story of attack on Oyetola, deputy, others
Residents of Ojoo, Ibadan will not forget Tuesday October 20 in a hurry. So are traders, motorists, commuters and passers-by who were victims. Youths had gathered at the location for the protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force when an argument ensued between them and some policemen at the roundabout. The Ojoo Police Station is located very close to the roundabout.
The argument soon degenerated into a confrontation between the police and the protesting youths, following which the former resorted to shooting into the air to scare the daring youths. Unfortunately, one of the bullets was said to have hit a young man, prompting the angry youths to attack the law enforcement agents by throwing missiles at them.
To scare away the youths and safeguard themselves and their station, the police started another round of shooting with bullets flying in different directions, hitting some passers-by, commuters and traders who were not among the protesters.
The protesting youths eventually overpowered the policemen, killed two of them, seized their AK 47 rifles and burnt down the station. The news of the confrontation soon went round the city, prompting other youths to attempt burning down other police stations around the capital city.
Although men of the state’s joint security outfit, Operation Burst, succeeded in repelling them in some stations, the angry youths burnt down the police station in Alabebe area of Ibadan as well as that of Iseyin. The protesters were however repelled at Gbagi, Agugu and Testing Ground.
Among the victims of the bloody confrontations was Godwin Chukwuka Ononuju, a trader at the roundabout, who said he was busy guarding his wares when his brother called him on the telephone to ask about the situation in Ojoo.
“Then suddenly, a bullet came from nowhere and hit me around the chest. Some other people were also hit in different parts of their body. My brother had to rush down from Iwo Road to take me to the University College Hospital (UCH),” he said.
Ononuju recalled the amount of pain he endured while his treatment lasted and the amount of money he had to spend in the hospital.
While Ononuju was discharged after treatment, Akeem Tijani was not that lucky. The Lagos-based business man was said to be returning to Lagos from Ilorin when the commercial vehicle conveying him and other passengers got stuck in the traffic snarl caused by protesters at Ojoo. Sensing danger, the driver of the vehicle said he could no longer be able to continue with the journey. Tijani was left with no choice but to alight from the vehicle and wade through the crisis spot to where he could get another vehicle and continue his journey to Lagos. In the process, however, he was hit by a bullet believed to have been fired by security agents.
He said: “As we were travelling from Ilorin to Lagos, we got to Ojoo in Ibadan and saw policemen shooting. The driver of our vehicle stopped, refusing to continue the journey to Lagos. We then started trekking towards the area where we could get another vehicle.
“As my brothers and I were moving, I did not know the direction from which a bullet came and hit me, and I fell down. Some kind hearted people rushed me to a private hospital but the doctors at the hospital refused to attend to me, insisting that I must produce a police clearance. It was soldiers that rescued us.”
He added: “The soldiers really tried. All the private hospitals we visited rejected us. The bullet hit me from the back, came out from below my chest and also hit my hand. My mouth was already melting before we got to UCH.”
He said his relations could not come to Ibadan to check on him because of the curfew in Lagos, but they were communicating on the telephone.
Another victim of stray bullet, 23-year-old Sodiq Oluwole was returning to his shop at Badmus area of Ojoo when a bullet pierced his buttocks.
He said: “I was alone when a bullet suddenly hit me in the buttocks. I was at the Ladegba Fuel Station when the bullet hit me.” 70, lamented that the family had been borrowing to pay the medical bills. She called on the government to come to her aid.
Yet another victim, Toheeb Rasheed, 33, had the femur of his right leg shattered by bullets.
Recalling the events that resulted in the unfortunate incident, he said: “We were at the market when suddenly we saw that people were running helter-skelter. It was while I was trying to run in the midst of that pandemonium that a bullet hit me in the leg.
“I sell crayfish and ogbono. My stock is still at the market. They were shooting tear gas and stray bullets were flying everywhere.”
His father, Alhaji Rasheed Azeez a.k.a. Ege called on the government to render a helping hand for his treatment, saying that the family had already incurred a bill of more than N150,000, adding that the hospital had asked them to provide another N150,000 to buy the iron that would be planted in the leg. That, he said, is different from the cost of surgery.
“I am appealing to the government to please come to our aid,” he pleaded.
Before normalcy began to return to Ibadan early in the week, flashpoints like Iwo Road, Ojoo, Challenge and Eleyele were taken over by protesters and hoodlums.
Two policemen had been burnt to death at Iwo Road interchange as a result of policemen running over a commercial motorcyclist.
A petty trader around the area, Mrs Abigeal Akinwunmi, who spoke with our correspondent, expressed displeasure over the events that led to the incident, calling on Governor Seyi Makinde to find a way to restore normalcy in the area.
Mr. Akeem Lana, a dealer in electronics and phone accessories, noted that the protests had affected their business as there had been low patronage by customers who were afraid to come out.
With normalcy gradually returning, it is believed that the city will find its fire back in a matter of days.
‘How we lost our shops to arson days after stocking them for Christmas’
- Survivors of Lagos ethnic clash count losses
As the dust settles over the ethnic clash involving the Yoruba and Hausa residents of Fagba, a Lagos suburb, in which many lives were lost and properties running into millions of naira were destroyed, victims and injured survivors are counting their losses.
The suburb had turned into a war zone during the violent ENDSARS protests after some Yoruba youths allegedly attacked some Hausa traders in the area, killing their numerous cattle and setting a long vehicle conveying them ablaze while the Hausa residents in the area responded with attacks on businesses belonging to the Yoruba in the area, with both sides recording some human casualties.
A visit to the area by our correspondent early in the week revealed traders whose businesses were affected by the crisis reliving their sad experiences, counting their losses in terms of loved ones and assets and wondering the way out of their predicaments.
“Where do we go from here?” a woman who lost her beauty shop asked in bewilderment as a state government official took stock of the traders who had suffered losses in the area. Incidentally, many of the traders said they had just spent millions of naira stocking their stores in readiness for the festive season when the crisis occurred.
Omowumi Arike, the CEO Arik Beauty Home, was yet to recover from shock as she recalled the events in a chat with one of our correspondents. Arike said it had taken her five years to set up the business that had just been destroyed. The first born of her aged prents, Arike said she had five other siblings that depended on her for survival.
“I have so many people depending on me. It is through this business that I take care of them. What is going to happen to them now? How do you want us to live? Government should please help me. There is no helper anywhere else,” she said.
Almost regretting her decision to abandon the container she was using to rent her jewellery shop that was razed for N500,000, she asked repeatedly, “Where do I start from?”
“Please I need assistance. I don’t want to go back again to selling pure (sachet) water. It took so much hustling to set up this shop but everything has been destroyed. I couldn’t take a pin out of it.”
Asked the worth of the jewellery she lost in the burnt shop, she put it about N3.5 million. She also appealed to the Lagos State Government to find a way of removing the miscreants in the area.
“These people who have no jobs, property or means of livelihood should be ejected from here,” she said
Mariam, a mother of two and another victim of the violent clash, said she only recently rented her burnt shop for N500,000. And like Arike, she said she lost her entire stock of phone accessories to the violence.
She said: “It is a big tragedy for me. I have lost all to this incident. How do I take care of my two children? My business is what my family depends on. I just lost N4 million to the incident. It is so sad.”
Mariam, who said she had maintained a shop in the area for 12 years, recalled the little beginnings when she operated under an umbrella, saying: “When I was doing business under an umbrella, they were disturbing us. I managed to rent a container but they looted our shops. But the one that happened two years ago was not as terrible as this.”
Mariam told The Nation that the arsonists first looted the shops before setting them ablaze.
“I couldn’t pick a thing from the shop. I lost everything. I am appealing to the government to take these miscreants away from here,” she said.
Another victim who did not want her name in print said but for providence, she would have been killed in the incident. Ironically, she said, she was rescued from her shop by the ENDSARS protesters after it was set ablaze.
“The problem started on a Tuesday while ENDSARS people were protesting. I was in the shop when the crisis started. It was the ENDSARS guys that facilitated my escape,” she said, adding that it was not until the second day that she realised the extent of the damage that had been done to her shop.
“I am alone with two kids. Government should please come to our aid.
“I had just stocked my shop. I bought goods worth N2 naira. Before I set up this shop, I was at home doing nothing. I paid two years rent but we have not even spent six months here and I could not salvage a thing.”
Sola Olufemi, a beautician who also sells cosmetics, said she had to hurriedly lock her shop when the trouble started. She estimated her loss in the violent clash at about N3.8 million.
“I couldn’t take a pin out of the shop. Everything was burnt. And they did not stop at that; they broke the glass and destroyed everything.”
For those who are conversant with Fagba junction, Oluwakemi Chidi Okere’s boutique shop attracts attention. Until it was looted by hoodlums, her beautifully decorated shop was cynosure of all eyes.
Also reliving her ordeal in a chat with The Nation, Oluwakemi Chidi Okere, who operates a beauty shop at Fagba Junction on Iju Road, said she was not around when the incident occurred.
She said: “I only got a call that my shop had been set on fire by protesters or rioters. I don’t know the set of people. There was curfew, so there was no way I could come to see how I could pack some things.
“By the time I came the following day, my boutique had been burnt. I lost nothing less than N5 million in the incident.”
The affected traders are appealing to the government to get rid of the miscreants in the suburb, saying that they are capable of generating crisis from time to time.
One of them who pleaded anonymity said: “This is not the first time the miscreants would clash among themselves. And each time they clash, the traders always have tales of woe to tell. The difference between this one and the previous ones is that this time round, the destruction was much.
“Why would they destroy our shops when we had nothing to do with their problem?”
How hoodlums, cult groups hatched attack on Oyetola, deputy, others
Most Osun State residents were left in shock on Saturday, October 17 after an attack on the Osun State governor, Gboyega Oyetola, his deputy Mr Benedict Alabi and other members of his cabinet by political thugs and hoodlums masquerading as ENDSARS protesters. The attack left many vehicles on the governor’s convoy damaged, attracting widespread condemnation by individuals and groups.
The ENDSARS protest, an agitation against the excesses of some officials of a unit of the Nigeria Police known as the Special Anti-Robbery Response Squad (SARS), had started on a peaceful note in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, on October 9, with youths thronging the streets in rallies meant to register their displeasure.
For nine days, the protesters marched on the Osun State House of Assembly, the Osun State Secretariat, the Government House and other public institutions in the state without harassing any citizen. They only barricaded the popular Ola-Iya Junction and vowed to remain there until the governor addressed them.
They rebuffed an attempt by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji, to address them on behalf of Governor Oyetola, who the SSG said had gone to Abuja to attend a meeting with the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, over the protests.
One of the leaders of the protesting youths, Abolore Ayedokun, addressing newsmen at Ogo-Oluwa Road, had said: “We are here on the street to register our grievances to the government. There must be an end to the brutality of SARS in this country.
“Many youths have been killed by these officers with guns that were bought by taxpayers’ money. It is unreasonable for those officers to kill Nigerians and at the end, nothing will happen.”
Another coordinator of the protest, Seyi Adelaga demanded that there should be an executive order disbanding SARS and Oyetola should be their mouthpiece at the federal level. He said Oyetola must come to address the gathering or they would not leave the streets.
How hoodlums, cult groups, political thugs hijacked protest
In the early hours of October 15, 2020, at Ola-Iya Junction where the youths traditionally converged, some hoodlums stormed the scene, brandishing cutlasses, knives, broken bottles, axes and other dangerous weapons in a bid to disperse the youths. The protesting youths dispersed only to converge shortly after while some other hoodlums and thugs, who were in support of the protest, joined the protesters and assured them of their safety.
However, on October 17, the protesters were attacked again with one of them sustaining an injury. The Nation findings revealed that Osogbo residents acknowledged the existence of some hoodlums in the state who were known for causing violence and riots. Among those mentioned were the Egbatedo Boys, the Orita Ayeipe Boys, the Oke Abesu Boys and the Testing Ground Boys, among others. The aforementioned groups are street urchins that are found at junctions around the state capital.
There are other groups of street urchins and cultists in communities around the state like Ede where they have the Apete-Isagba Boys and Ilesha where the Eiye Confraternity and Aiye Group always engage each other in clashes that often result in loss of lives.
The foregoing groups were believed to have hidden under the cover of protesting against police brutality to foment trouble and kill their rivals. They were also believed to have seized the protest to embarrass the governor who the thugs allegedly accused of not patronising them since he was sworn in as governor.
Previous administrations in the state had identified with the street urchins to the extent of naming them “State Boys”. But under the Oyetola administration, they have enjoyed no patronage and are therefore peeved that the administration did not accord them the recognition they had enjoyed from previous ones.
Oyetola addresses protesters
The protesting youths were elated on Saturday, October 17 with the news that Governor Oyetola was ready to address them. The governor joined the #EndSARS protesters in Osogbo and marched with other state executives from Alekuwodo Area around 2:54 PM to Ola-Iya Junction where the protesters were gathered.
When Oyetola and his entourage had walked gently to the protesters, his deputy, Mr Gboyega Alabi, made to address the youths but they insisted that it was the governor that should speak to them. As a peace lover, Oyetola pleaded with the protesters that their demand was being looked into by the federal government.
However, the refusal of the governor to mount the podium did not go down well with some of the youths who insisted that he must mount the podium. Some began to shout, “Soro Soke, were!” (speak louder, mad man). While a question and answer session was going on with the governor, some of the protesters insisted that he should call the Commissioner of Police to arrest one Ashiri Eniba, the Chairman of Road Transport Workers, who they alleged was behind the attack on them.
The event degenerated into crisis as the governor publicly declared to the protesters: “I don’t do thug. I would never deploy any thug to attack the citizens who voted me into power.” The statement infuriated the hoodlums and political thugs at the scene who charged forward to attack him.
The situation forced the governor to retreat into his car while some people started throwing pebbles at his convoy. Oyetola eventually escaped death by a whisker as some of the thugs brought out cutlasses, guns and axes which they intended to use on him. The convoy drove away while some motorcycle riders reportedly chased after him and he had to escape through a compound route when he discovered that some of the the motorcyclists were already lying in wait for him.
Oyetola, in a state broadcast, described the attack as a “failed attempt” on his life. He said it was hoodlums who were after his life and not the protesters.
Reliving the incident, one of the coordinators of the protest, Mr Ayo Ologun, explained that one person sustained cutlass injury during the attack on the protesters before the arrival of Governor Oyetola and was quickly rushed to the hospital by the protesters. He said the angry youths repelled the attack and the thugs beat a retreat.
The Nation reliably gathered that those that mastermind the attack on the governor had been arrested.
It was learnt that the latest attempt on Governor Oyetola’s life by political thugs was the third time the governor would be attacked by hoodlums in the state.
One of the attacks was recorded in 2019 after the flag-off of a Primary Health Care Centre at Oke-Baale area when some thugs approached the governor but they were declined. The issue caused those hoodlums to pelt his convoy with stones and cudgels.
Similarly, some thugs attacked Oyetola and his cabinet members with stones and other dangerous weapons during the 2020 countdown event organised by the state government in Osogbo.
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