A 19-year-old boy, identified simply as Emmanuel, was hacked to death on Monday night in the Iwaya area of Lagos State after some hoodlums raided at least six streets in the community.
Emmanuel was the only son of his widowed mother.
The hoodlums, who residents claimed were about 100 in number, also vandalised no fewer than 50 vehicles parked on the roads.
Some of the witnesses added that many residents were injured, while others were dispossessed of their valuables during the fracas which occurred around 9.30pm.
Sources said the violence lasted for about three hours, without any challenge from security operatives, who began patrolling the troubled spots around 2am.
When PUNCH Metro visited the area on Tuesday, he observed blood stains on a spot on Moshalashi Street, where Emmanuel was reportedly killed.
Our correspondent counted six damaged cars on Balogun Street, five on Akintola Street, three on Moshalashi Street, two on Arowolo Street and one each on Salami and Pedro streets. Many others were said to have been taken away for repairs by their owners.
Though the main reason for the attack could not be ascertained, investigations by our correspondent revealed that the gang came from the Owode/Oju Ina part of the area.
They were said to be involved in a supremacy clash with the Iwaya boys.
A resident, who craved anonymity, said, “Around 9.30pm, we were all seated outside and we saw a crowd of boys entering into the street.
“They were wielding cutlasses, guns, bottles and irons. People started running helter-skelter. They attacked many people with cutlasses and used the opportunity to rob some ladies who were passing by. They were moving from street to street.”
Another witness said the victim,Emmanuel, who was an apprentice in a vulcaniser’s workshop, came out with a trolley loaded with bottles.
Some boys in the area were said to be hauling the bottles in the trolley at the gang in a bid to repress the aggression.
He said, “They shot Imole (Emmanuel) in the leg and he could no longer run. That was when some of the gang members swooped on him and started hitting him with iron and cutting him with cutlasses. They left him for dead.”
It was gathered that the deceased was supposed to have his graduation on Saturday, this week, when he was killed.
Although the scene of the incident was only a few kilometers to the Iwaya Police Post, it was learnt that policemen from the Sabo Division were the ones that came to evacuate the corpse.
A resident, Ayoola Efunkoya, told PUNCH Metro that his Toyota Camry was among many of the vandalised vehicles.
“I learnt they were all teenagers. They broke the two windscreens and side mirrors of my car. They ransacked the car to see if there was anything they could steal, but they only found cassettes which they took,” he added.
A trader, Lasisi Bodurin, said he was in his room when he heard a noise.
He said, “The boys were chasing people with weapons. When they got to Balogun Street, I overheard them saying, ‘let us finish them off here’. They damaged two of my vehicles and fled.”
A pastor, Ayeniran Durotola, whose car was also damaged, appealed to the government to intervene before the crisis escalated.
Durotola said he counted over 100 hoodlums, who moved in and out of his street two times, while he and his family shook in fright.
Our correspondent gathered that some youths in the area had promise a reprisal during the week.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.
He said, “A teenager was killed in the early hours of the morning. He was killed during a fight involving two rival factions. The police were alerted to the disturbance in that neighbourhood. But by the time our men arrived at the scene, the hoodlums had absconded from the area and the young man was met in a pool of blood.
“His corpse has been evacuated to a public morgue. The area is now under intensive patrol and the community is now calm. Efforts are being made to apprehend the perpetrators of the crime.”
0 comments: