The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ikorodu

  • Outrage as Badoo kills man, wife, children in Ikorodu

    Outrage as Badoo kills man, wife, children in Ikorodu

    …leaves teenage daughter unconscious

    For the umpteenth time, suspected members of the Badoo gang struck at Ikorodu killing a man, his pregnant wife and two children.

    They were killed at the wee hours of Monday when their Letter N Junction, Radio Area, Erunwen residence in Ikorodu was invaded.

    One of the family members, said to be an SS3 student, who survived the attack, was said to be battling for her life at a specialist hospital (names withheld).

    She was found naked and unconscious on Tuesday morning with a black cloth around her head.

    It was gathered that the assailants used mortar and pestle to smash their victims’ heads.

    Condemning the killings, Coordinator, Ikorodu Ambassadors, Rasheed Fatuga said the Badoo issue must be addressed urgently.

    He decried the passive manner the issue has been handled, calling on the police, government, traditional and other institutions to act fast before it got out of hands.

    He said: “How long will this continue, what is their mission and purpose? Why kill families? What for? What gain? So sad!

    “A kitchen mortar is a device used to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them. It is shocking and sad to see that Badoo gang hasn’t been neutralised.

    “What happens in a community where constituted authorities cannot provide security of lives and properties? What is the function of the Ikorodu Police Divisions when they cannot give us peace of mind?

    “What is the essence of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad patrolling Ikorodu 24/7 looking for only Yahoo-Boys up and down?

    “And where are the Ikorodu Youths, that are supposed to take the Badoo issue as their priority, talk about it on social media every time, forward the news to the Lagos State Government’s platforms, stand up against these negligible acts? They are nowhere to be found.

    “Instead, they are busy carrying posters of politicians on their heads, politicians/leaders that are responsible for all this suffering in the first place.

    “Kudos to the Vigilante Group of Ikorodu, they have been awesome, but they cannot do it all. They don’t have the resources. We need to re-orientate and equip them.

    “We use this opportunity to call on our community, religious and political leaders to neutralise this ugly situation as soon as possible.

    “Also we are calling on Ikorodu indigenes/ambassadors all over the world, muslim community, christian associations, traditional worshippers, market men, women and all mothers in Ikorodu to stand up now. Remember, POSTERITY is watching you all!”

    Continuing, Fatuga said the murderous gang usually explored easy access, houses without burglary proofs and isolated.

    He said: “The Badoo gang usually looks for easy access. They look for houses without burglary proofs, incomplete, areas where there are few houses, so that even when victims scream for help in distress, they get none.

    “It hasn’t been easy identifying and detecting the notorious gang because they don’t carry weapons on them when walking. They depend and use sharp objects and equipment that can hurt victims to do their damages.

    “Always challenge and report any suspicious person(s)/activities around your environment to your landlord or Community Development Association (CDA), then they can report to the necessary authorities.

    “If you notice any stranger(s) parading around your house/area, call on your neighbours, approach them politely, ask questions, then call on elders, landlord or CDA representatives to intervene and hinder necessary actions.”

    Contacted, the command’s spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent (ASP) said investigation was ongoing to arrest the culprits.

  • Ikorodu killings: Police after family for raising false alarm

    Ikorodu killings: Police after family for raising false alarm

    Mr Fatai Owoseni, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, said on Saturday that the police were  on the trail of a  family which  allegedly raised the false alarm that resulted  in the  killing  of four persons in Ikorodu.

    Owoseni told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  in Lagos  that the family already declared wanted had a fight with another family over an undisclosed matter, stressing that  it   raised a false alarm that the victims  were members of the notorious Badoo  cult.

    “The police are  after the family that raised the false alarm. We are investigating the case,’’ Owoseni said.

    Sources had earlier told NAN that four persons,  who were branded to be members of the notorious Badoo cult group in Adamo area of Ikorodu,  were on Friday lynched by residents.

    NAN gathered that members of the public, however, later discovered that the slain persons  were not members of the notorious cult group but land speculators.

    NAN further learnt  that three houses, two vehicles and motorcycles were set ablaze in a reprisal attack by colleagues of the slain persons.

    An unnamed person was said to have  started a building project on  Thursday in Araro area of Adamo in Ikorodu.

    Some land speculators from Agunfoye area reportedly invaded the building site and demanded for royalty from the owner of the building.

    A source told NAN that the man refused to give the men the money and they went away with a threat that they were coming back

    ” True to their threat,  they mobilised and returned on Friday but unknown to them, the owner of the building had also mobilised some youths in the area,” the source said.

    NAN further gathered that a clash was said to have ensued between the land speculators and the residents,  forcing them to flee from the site of the building project.

    The land speculators were escaping when  residents raised the alarm that they were members of the Badoo cult group.

    It was also gathered that the residents had lied that the slain land speculators had earlier in the day killed a family of four people.

    “More residents were mobilised and they reportedly chased the land speculators to where they were caught and beaten to stupor, with four of them eventually dying.

    “The death of the land speculators sparked instant crisis as hoodlums from Agunfoye mobilised themselves and invaded Adamo  where three houses were burnt.

    “The Agungoye thugs, who were armed with assorted dangerous weapons including guns, matches and broken bottles,  attacked residents of Araro, injuring some of them in the process.

    “ It took the intervention of policemen from the RRS and local divisions in Ikorodu before the angry hoodlums were dispersed,” a source told NAN.

    Meanwhile, many residents of Araro have started relocating from the community following fears that the police might  arrest them.

    Some of them also expressed  fears   that the hoodlums from Agunfoye might return to avenge the death of the slain four people.

  • Father arraigned for raping daughter

    An incestuous father, Folorunsho Oluwaseun, who allegedly turned his 17-year-old daughter into a sex object, was on Friday granted a reprieve by an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.

    Oluwaseun was released on N300,000 bail with two sureties in like sum after he pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    The 51-year-old electrician, who resides at 40, Popoola St., Offin in Ikorodu, Lagos State, is facing a charge of rape.

    Police Prosecutor Clifford Ogu told the court that the accused committed the offence between Aug. 8, 2016 and April 2017 at his residence.

    Ogu said the accused, who has separated from his wife since 2013, was awarded the custody of his three children including the girl.

    “The accused started abusing his 17-year-old daughter sexually since August last year.

    “The girl wrote in her statement to the police that any time she refuses her father’s sexual advances, he would not give her and her siblings food,” he said.

    “The girl narrated her ordeal to her mother when she visited them.

    “The woman reported the case to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team at Ikeja and the case was brought to the Police station.”

    The offence contravened Section 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Taiwo Akanni, adjourned the case until June 5 for mention.

     

  • Widow, three children found dead in Ikorodu

    Widow, three children found dead in Ikorodu

    A widow and her three children have been found dead in their 4, Adeigbe Street, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos home.
    Aishat Mohammed Idris, 50, Gaddafi, 22, Usalaman, 16 and Yusuf, 8, from Kura local government area of Kano State, were allegedly killed in their sleep by generator fume on Saturday.
    It was gathered that the widow’s cousin, who visited the family, found their bodies when he peeped through the window.
    According to a family source, the family came to Lagos last month and was still settling in.
    A source said: “They just came to Lagos last month. Their father died a few years ago. So, the woman’s mother, who lives abroad, sent money to her nephew in Lagos to rent a house and bring them down.
    “The nephew got the house in Ikorodu, went to Kano and brought Aishat and her three children. They usually exchanged visits. Sometimes they go to his house on Lagos Island, other times he visits them at Igbogbo.
    “So, that Saturday was his turn to visit and he got there in the morning with a teacher for the youngest child. After knocking so many times without response, he started calling the woman’s phone. It was ringing inside the house but no one was picking.
    “He then went through the back and opened one of the windows. It was when he peeped through that he saw all of them, lying lifeless. He screamed and people started coming out.
    “At first, he wanted to break the door but we told him to go to the police and make a report. So, policemen followed him to the house and they broke the door.
    “Everyone entered inside to see things for themselves. People were crying. There were white substances on their nostrils like foam. Policemen took the photographs of the bodies and the house before they took them away.”
    Contacted, the relation, said when people entered the three-bedroom apartment, they found that the family turned on its generator and left it inside one of the rooms.
    “It’s a painful loss for us. It was generator fume that killed them. They put on generator inside one of the rooms and all of them slept in the parlour. Everywhere was locked and so, they must have inhaled the fume from the generator. I just don’t know why they put the generator inside the room. When I got there, I didn’t hear generator sound. But when police opened the door, they checked the generator and the fuel in it has finished. It seems the generator went off by itself. But the whole place was smelling of generator fume.
    “I have called my aunt and she said an autopsy should be conducted on the bodies. The police took them to Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary.”
    The command’s spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said they were investigating a case of sudden and unnatural death.
    He said an autopsy would be conducted to ascertain what happened.

  • Ritual gang kills family of six in Ikorodu

    A couple and their four daughters have been killed by members of the suspected ritual gang, Badoo at Imota, Ikorodu, Lagos.

    Taofeek Agbaje, his wife, Simiatu and their daughters – Mardiya, 13, Rodiat, 10, Toyeebat, eight, and a-year-old Sadiat were hacked to death last Thursday.

    It was gathered that the gang attacked the family at midnight.

    The late Agbaje, Rodiat and Toyeebat were buried on Thursday. The trio of Simiatu, Mardiya and Sadiat died in the hospital. They were buried on Friday.

    The incident occurred at Adeke Bus Stop in Adamo, Imota, one of the areas that have suffered attacks from the murderous gang since last year.

    According to the source, the attackers entered the family’s three-bedroom bungalow apartment and hacked the victims.

    The assailants were said to have torn the window nets, removed the burglary proof and crawled into the rooms where the victims laid.

    It was gathered that after hitting their victims with a heavy object, they used a handkerchief to clean their blood before fleeing.

    He said neighbours were unaware of the incident because of the deafening sound of an electricity generating set.

    A neighbour, it was learnt, was the first to sight the victims around 6am, when she went to get lemon from the victims’ home.

    He said: “The woman needed the lemon for her child who was having stomach-ache. She went to Iya Mardiya’s place to get it but she saw Mardiya crawling on the passage. Mardiya pointed into their room and when the woman got there, she saw others lying lifeless.”

    Spokesman for the Lagos Command, Olarinde Famous-Cole said: “The Lagos state command operatives responded to a distress call from a resident and discovered that one Taofeek Agbaje and his family were attacked at night time by unknown persons. As a result, the man and his two daughters died, while his wife and two other daughters, sustained injuries and were taken to a hospital. The scene of the incident was visited. Investigations are in progress.”

  • Police discover new kidnappers’ hideout in Lagos

    Police discover new kidnappers’ hideout in Lagos

    The Lagos State Police Command  on Friday said it had discovered  a new kidnappers’  hideout where arms as well as  police and military life jackets were recovered.

    The Commissioner of  Police in Lagos, Mr Fatai Owoseni,  who confirmed the discovery to newsmen, said that it was made during raids of creeks at Isawo in  Ikorodu area of Lagos.

    Owoseni said  that the hideout was discovered on Thursday by a team of  Ikorodu Special Anti-Robbery  Squad (SARS) and Volunteer Police led by Superintendent Godfrey Soriweiu.

    He noted that the success came two weeks after the discovery of a similar hideout in  Isawo.

    “In continuation of its onslaught on militants operating from the creeks, Lagos State Police Command early Thursday morning raided and recovered seven army and police bullet-proof vests.

    “The teams also recovered eight ballistic helmets and nine life jackets from a new kidnapper’s hideout in Lagos.

    “Other item recovered by the team includes a speed boat belonging to the suspected kidnappers, “he said.

    He said that the team thereafter destroyed the hideout before moving the recovered items out of the location.

    “The suspected kidnappers, who were preparing their morning meal, scampered into safety on sighting the special team,  abandoning several items,” he said.

  • Police and Ikorodu killings

    SIR: Recently, Ikorodu area of Lagos was thrown into confusion as suspected militants struck at Woodland Estate area, Ishawo in Ikorodu. At the end of it all, two soldiers and five policemen were reportedly killed by the supposed militants. According to reports, the gallant security operatives were killed after effectively rescuing kidnapped victims kept in the creeks of Ikorodu by the militants.

    While commiserating with families of the fallen officers, the Lagos State government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, reassured members of the public that every effort would be made to ensure their killers are nabbed and made to face the full wrath of the law. Barely a few days after, the Nigerian Police revealed that the mastermind of the Ikorodu killings, Endurance Ominisan, aka Mighty had been killed in a gun battle with the police. Ominisan was said to have met his waterloo after he purportedly came out from his hideout in the Ikorodu creeks to hang out with his girlfriend.

    In-spite of the commendable exploit of getting rid of ‘Mighty’ Ominisan, it is gratifying to note that the police and other security operatives aren’t in any way resting on their oars. In a bid to ensure that the entire creeks around Ikorodu and its environs are completely free of the likes of Ominisan, officers and men of the Lagos State Police command, led by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, recently invaded and utterly destroyed criminal hideouts across Ikorodu creeks. In the process, some criminals were apprehended and investigations are ongoing to see discover their level of involvements in criminal activities in the area.

    It should be stressed that the multi-dimensional approach of security operatives to tackling the nuisance of criminals across creeks in Lagos and its environs is undoubtedly yielding creditable results. It will be recalled that the Operation Awatse (Awatse is an Hausa word for scatter), a joint Task Force deployed to take care of the activities of militants and vandals around the creek of Lagos and Ogun states, have been working tirelessly to eliminate criminals and prevent criminal activities across the creeks of the two states . On several occasions, in 2016, officers and men of the joint Task Force struck and destroyed quite a number of notorious camps and apprehended many criminals.

    The Ikorodu killings call attention to the urgent need to empower youths across the country. Hence, faith based organisations, key social-cultural bodies, related government agencies and other youth based stakeholders should continue invest in the development of the youth. This is the best way to safeguard the future of our beloved country.

    All the partners of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund must not relent in their efforts towards continuously equipping and empowering the Lagos State Police Command in the onerous task of checkmating criminals in the state. It is only a common frontal response that could effectively forestall future occurrence of such dastardly act as the one recently experienced in Ikorodu.  Public security cannot be obtained without the active involvement, participation and support of everyone in the society.

    Despite the magnitude of the Lagos State government investment in public security, there are still herculean challenges that government’s resources alone cannot tackle. In as much as everyone in a state pursues varied interests, the pursuit of public security should, nevertheless, be the common goal of all. The involvement and participation of individuals and non-governmental actors in the issues of public security is, therefore, a necessity for the actualization of a secured society.

     

    • Tayo Ogunbiyi,

    Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

  • Hubby ‘kills’ wife in Ikorodu

    A man has allegedly killed his wife and fled their Ikorodu, Lagos home.
    The man, Omolaja Shodipo’s strange behaviour was said to have attracted people to his home where the body of his wife, who was a teacher was found yesterday.
    He was said to have been screaming and rolling on the ground outside the bungalow where he lived with his wife and four children.
    According to neighbours, his behaviour attracted the people who came to find out what was wrong.
    As they gathered, Shodipo was said to have sneaked out without any trace.
    While looking for him, the people peeped into the house and saw his wife’s body on the ground.
    A source said: “It was at that point that people realised he has killed his wife. No one can really say what happened but I heard they had a disagreement on Sunday night.
    “They are the only ones who live in their house. The man is the owner of the house and they have stayed here for about seven years now. They have four children. We usually call the woman Iya Ireoluwa. She was a teacher and she was a very quiet woman. I don’t know what the husband does.
    “So, when the woman’s body was seen, people contacted Owutu Police Station and they came and evacuated it.
    “There was blood there and a cutlass but there was no blood on the cutlass. The police searched the house but they couldn’t see any weapon. They are looking for the man now.”
    The residents declined comments on the incident when our correspondent visited the area yesterday.
    The woman’s colleague at the school where she taught described her as “easy going.” They said were devastated by her death.
    Command’s spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the body had been deposited at Ikorodu General Hospital morgue.
    The command, he said, had launched a manhunt for the suspect.

  • Police kill suspected killer of police, military personnel

    The Nigeria Police Force says it has killed Endurance Ominisan, a native of Ondo, one of the suspected killers of police and military personnel in Ikorodu, Lagos.

    A statement issued by the Force Spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, in Abuja on Tuesday, said the suspect was killed during a shoot-out with the police.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that two Inspectors of Police, two Police sergeants and an Army Captain were killed in an ambush by militants on April 9 in Ikorodu, Lagos.

    Moshood said that items recovered from the suspects are one Turkish pistol, five live ammunition and Four ammunition shells.

    He said that the suspect who was a principal suspect was shot while trying to escape from the roof top of a house at No. 20 Joel Adebolu Street, Ibeshi area of Ikorodu.

    The spokesman said that the suspect while being taken for medical treatment, made oral confessional statement admitting to the criminal roles he played along with other suspects at large.

    “The Police Special Units and I-G Intelligence Response Team are on the trail of the other members of this vicious and notorious gang.

    “Much progress has been made in the investigation of the gruesome murder of the Police and military personnel,“he said.

    He advised members of the public in Ikorodu and neighbouring communities to go about their lawful activities without fear or apprehension.

     

  • Kidnappers lay siege to Ikorodu community

    forced her to ask their son, Afeez who was working on his laptop, to open the door for her.

    She said they abducted her and her husband and led them through the swamp of Wood Island into a canoe which was paddled to their hideout. She said her husband stayed many days in the woods before his release after the ransom was paid.

    Both Mrs Solaja and Mrs Alabi said the incident was reported at Owutu Police Station after their captors had released them.

    The Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA), Mr Ibikunle Olayide said many families have since deserted their homes and sought refuge with relations outside the community while those remaining sleep with one eye closed; as nobody knows who would be the next victim.

    Olayide said the kidnappers, who are always armed first abducted one Musediq Oyewole, his elder sister, Mrs Alabi, one Mr Anifowose and his daughter, Bolu.

    He said they were yet to grasp the full implications of the incident when they struck again four days after and abducted one Chief Timothy Ibhahe and his wife.

    He said the wife was later released to go and look for funds to pay the N150 million fixed as ransom before her husband could regain freedom. He also said nobody knew how much was eventually paid as ransom.

    He, however, said members of the community levied themselves to assist the victims in meeting the kidnappers’ demands as nobody knew whose turn would be next.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, Olarinde Famours-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) said the command was aware of the kidnapping activities in the various communities close to the creeks in Agric.

    He said activities of the kidnappers have decreased, though he attributed recent developments in the area to activities of some criminal elements who wanted to feed fat on the vice.

    He further explained that a joint patrol of the Police, the Military and the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) has been increased around the creeks to control the trend.