On December 31st 2013, the thoughts of many across the world was on how to transition to the new year and what prospects the new year probably hold in store for them. However, in parts of Lagos State, armed gangsters had other thoughts: their supposed rivals must not see the New Year.
City Voice investigations revealed that about four men were gruesomely murdered on New Year eve and in the early hours of 2014 in a burst of violence that left several families in shock and mourning.
About 5.30pm, on December 31st, residents said suspected gangsters struck at Oyebola street, Bariga Lagos where they allegedly murdered one Lekan, popularly known as Stubborn.
A resident of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the assailants used dangerous weapons to stab Lekan all over his body and his body was mutilated.
“It was a gruesome murder, I have never seen such killing in my life,” the man said. “The cultists rode on bikes. They were many and they cornered Lekan. They stabbed him all over and brought out his intestines and left the intestine on his chest. It was a horrific sight”.
The suspected assailants allegedly moved next to Adefise Street, in Shomolu, that same day where they allegedly murdered one Tosin, popularly known as Eniba.
About midnight, during the End of Year carnival at the Fadeyi area of the State, suspected gang members also struck and killed one Kazeem, popularly known as Asanti
The killing spree continued unabated and on January 4th, suspected cultists allegedly killed one Jimoh Lawal, a DJ, at the Olosa area of Mushin.
Gang killings was a major source of untimely deaths in Lagos in 2013 and despite police clampdown on suspected gang members and constant raids of their hideouts at Shomolu, Bariga, Mushin, Ikorodu, Agege and other suburbs in the state, inter-gang warfare continued unabated; with opposing groups launching attacks on one another and the residents. Such clashes often involve the exchange of gunshots as well as looting of shops; vandalism of vehicles and other property. Innocent residents are not spared either, as they get injured and they lose property in the clashes.
One of the prominent gang-related killings in 2013 was the murder on February 28th of Damola Olaniyan, popularly known as Damoche.
Damoche, a 400-level student of Banking and Finance at the Lagos State University, was an upcoming musician who was killed during his final examinations in front of the school main gate by armed men who shot him in the chest at close range.
Few days after his murder, suspected members of a gang, in a reprisal attack, struck at the off-campus residence of the school’s students at Okokomaiko and killed another student, identified as Kabiru.
In March, another gang led by one Taiye, killed a student of the North American University in Benin Republic, identified as Adeolu Otenaike. Adeolu had visited Lagos with five of his friends to celebrate a car he just bought.
His friend Chinedu, who survived the attack, said they visited the Arena, a popular club and the alleged headquarters of the Black Axe Confraternity located at the Jibowu area of the state to celebrate. But trouble started when the said Taiye ordered Adeolu and his friends to leave the club. Chinedu claimed that Taiye led some boys and to waylay Adeolu and his friends as they left the club and shot Adeolu at close range, leaving him in the pool of his blood.
Following the murder, there were reprisal attacks to avenge Adeolu’s death as four other men, identified as Fadeyi, Olosa , Martins and Adeyemi were killed in the Mushin area of the state.
Last June, suspected gangsters shot dead a 26 –year-old man identified as Osondo Boubo at the Fadeyi area of the State. Osondo was said to be drinking beer at a popular spot in the area when armed men stormed the place, dragged him out and shot him in the chest.
Also, some armed men stormed Ebunoluwa street at Bariga where they stabbed two men who were fast asleep to death. The victims, identified as Mokolia Ibadan and Wale Rewire were allegedly killed in a reprisal attack following the earlier killing of one Isiaka Oyefeso in Shomolu.
Also in 2013, suspected cultists from the Aiye and Eiye confraternity engaged one another in a supremacy battle at the Akoka and Poopola areas of the mainland, during which they unleashed terror, looted and vandalized over 100 vehicles and shops .
The killings also claimed the life of the Financial Secretary of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in Mushin, identified as Taiye Monsuru, aka Sempe Taiye was killed very close to his home at 45 Adegboyega Street, Ilupeju after about 10 men were said to have attacked and shot at him at close range.
On August 6th, two men were also shot and killed at Onile-Iyan street, Sungas area of Mushin while one Tunde Lawal, known as Ogbon, was killed at Ajose by suspected cultists.
What is a pointer to the possible continual in the violence was the killing, also in December, of Segun Ogbere, popularly known as Shaggy. Ogbere, the leader of the Shaggy Boys in Bariga, was returning from a court where he was a star witness in an alleged murder case when his assailants, numbering about 15, dragged him out of a tipper vehicle at the Bariga area and stabbed him severely until his stomach ruptured. His boys have allegedly vowed to avenge his death.
While the endless killings have continued, the Lagos State Commissioner of police, Mr. Umar Manko has promised that the police is up to the task of combatting the violence. Mr. Manko said the command has deployed plain clothed police men and constant patrol teams in the flashpoint areas to arrest the killings.
While this measure is said to have calmed things down a little, a police source confessed that arresting gangsters is difficult as community leaders and parents of suspected gang members do not assist the police.
“We have been arresting these cultists, but it is difficult because the communities where they thrive see cultism as a normal way of life,” the police officer said. “Virtually every young man in parts of Shomolu, Bariga, Mushin and other areas belong to a cult. You will see welders, bricklayers, technicians, footballers, hair dressers, taxi drivers, bus drivers, meat sellers, tailors and whatever belonging to one of these groups and their parents are not bothered. We do not know why, but their parents are the problem especially their mothers.
“When you go to arrest them, these boys would run into their mother’s room and hide there. The next thing, the mother will go naked and dare the police to come in. So what do you do in that kind of situation? Will you go into the house to drag a man out when the mother and sisters are stark naked? Even when we call for a community meeting, the residents would tell you that they will not give you information because they don’t want you to arrest their children. So, this is a major challenge but we have been making arrests and charging them to court”
