Some residents of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government in Lagos State are currently living in fear of their lives as hoodlums attack and rob them of their belongings at will.
These robbery attacks take place early in the morning when residents are out to work while in some cases, it happens in the evening when most of the working population are returning home.
From detailed findings, the hoodlums who form themselves into various gangs reside in Abattoir, a haven for criminal elements, and they only come out to rob residents.
Some residents who spoke with IfakoijaiyeNews said they are at the mercy of these hoodlums and they now move around in fear while the Local Government looks the other way.
A resident of Daddy Savage in Fagba, who identified himself simply as Kola, narrated how the hoodlums stormed Fagba environs and robbed innocent residents in early June.
“I can’t recall the exact day this happened but it was on a Friday night in June. I was walking to Fagba junction I saw people running. I didn’t exactly run but slowed my steps. Then I saw these Abattoir boys numbering like 10, moving about, robbing people. They were armed with various weapons.
“Suddenly, some boys from my area (Daddy Savage) came and we decided to chase them. But by then, it was too late, they had robbed a lot of motorists and passersby. The annoying thing is that the RRS Officers stationed at Fagba were there but didn’t do anything,” he said.
Another resident of Alamutu Estate, who, for security reasons, craved anonymity, said that many residents of the estate who leave for work early in the morning have been victims of robberies.
She said, “You see this side, Alamutu bus stop to Fagba, is a very deadly spot. I can count the number of residents who have been robbed and two of them wounded around 6am when going to work. I work at Yaba and need to be out eain rly in the morning so I can beat the Lagos traffic and get to office on or before 8. Without talking about them, I had my bag snatched were the February this year and I had to run back into the Estate so they wouldn’t harm me. When it was unbearable, the CDA had to set up a post for officers of LNSC. However, they are no longer there and we are back at square one.”
Felix Chiedozie, a factory worker at Expression and resident of Ishaga who spoke with IfakoIjaiyeNews said many of his colleagues at work have been robbed between Ishaga and Aina area of Ifako Ijaiye.
According to him, having to resume by 7am has endangered them all and they have fallen victim many times to early morning robbery.
“As of last week, a colleague was robbed and stabbed. Fortunately for him, he escaped with his life. He was attacked at Aina bus stop. Those abokis from Abattoir are the one doing this,” he said.
Oko-Oba Agege Abattoir A Security Threat To Residents Of Ifako- Ijaiye
Following the ethnic clash that resulted from the fallout of the EndSARS campaign in Fagba, Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ordered the demolition of shanties and illegal structures around the Oko-Oba Agege Abattoir.
The move was to chase away the hoodlums who capitalised on the EndSARS movement to cause havoc on Ifako-Ijaiye. However, at the time of filing this report, the shanties and illegal structures are fully back and along with it, the criminal elements.
For residents of Iju Station, Fagba, Pipeline, Shina Peters and environs (Ojokoro LCDA), they cannot sleep with their two eyes closed.
An All Progressives Congress (APC) Executive member in Ifako-Ijaiye who didn’t want his name mentioned for fear of backlash said that the location of the Oko-Oba Agege Abattoir is a major threat to the people of Ifako-Ijaiye.
He said, “It is a bit sad that people will put politics ahead of the safety of their people. Everyday, we live in fear of those scrap merchants in Abattoir. Most of them jump over fences within the community to steal people’s properties. It doesn’t stop there. When it is past 6pm, you have to think twice before you pass through First Bank in Fagba and cross the rail.
“The shanties the Lagos State demolished are back. It seems Lagos State is powerless in this matter or they are just footdragging. Whatever it is, I pray we residents don’t pay for their indifference dearly.”
LNSC, RSS, Police Complicit
The Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC0, an agency established to assist the police; the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) officers stationed at Fagba junction and the Police from the Red House division are all complicit in the growing insecurity in Ifako-Ijaiye.
The RRS officers, who were returned to Fagba junction to stem the tide of early morning robberies have neglected their duty.
Their focus has shifted to assiting LASTMA officers at Fagba junction to extort motorists.
For officers of the Red House police division, they park daily beside the traffihasc light at Fagba, randomly slecting vehicles to stop while adding to the traffic situation onselectingfraudsters the road. Their targets are suspected internet fraudsters.
As for officers of tonhe LNSC, abandoning the post at Alamutu junction has further emboldened the criminals who have laid siegeGovernment to residents of that area.
The chairman of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government, Hon Usman Hamzat cannot be excused as well. The major responsibility of the government is to secure the lives and property of its people and anything short of this is not acceptable.
