On Saturday, hoodlums in large numbers said to have emerged from the Agbado area all the way to Abule Egba in Lagos, wreaked havoc by breaking into shops and houses to loot various items and also rob residents of money and valuables.
Residents in several communities in Ogun and Lagos are now living in fear following rising cases of robbery attacks during the ongoing Coronavirus lockdown imposed on both cities.
On Saturday, hoodlums in large numbers said to have emerged from the Agbado area all the way to Abule Egba in Lagos, wreaked havoc by breaking into shops and houses to loot various items and also rob residents of money and valuables.
Residents of the affected neighbourhoods in Ogun State like Ijoko, Sango Ota, Ayepe, Ilepa, Ibogun, Itori and Agbado say they now live in fear, while those in Ajao Estate, Abule Egba, Iju, Agege, Alimosho, Alagbado – all in Lagos – reckon that they no longer sleep well at night as a result of the threat posed by the hoodlums.
In fact it was gathered that residents of the affected communities have since formed vigilante groups to protect themselves against the miscreants.
“They came in about three buses, shot into the air and started looting. Shop owners had to run for their lives.
“Some houses were also attacked and were robbed of money and other valuables,” one resident in Agbado said.
Narrating his own experience, another resident of the area, who asked not to be named for safety reason, said, “The robbers, who have been attacking our neighbouring communities, wrote a letter to us on Wednesday to inform us that they were coming soon. As a result, we now make bonfires at night to keep vigil over our neighbourhood.”
Reacting to the issue, spokesperson for the police in Lagos, Bala Elkana, disclosed that some of the hoodlums responsible for terrorising these communities have been arrested.
He said, “The hoodlums stepped out in the name of attacking each other just to create a scene and using the opportunity to steal.
“We envisaged that they would attempt it so we had our deployment already. Our men were well prepared for them.
“We have a patrol team and rapid response squad were all over and we responded. We have a number of suspects already in custody.”