Mayhem in Lagos •Four killed, 27 vehicles destroyed in gang war

Pandemonium broke out in the Mosafejo, Oshodi-Isale area of Lagos
State, after rival groups said to be members of the National Union of
Road Transport Workers, clashed on Tuesday evening and early
Wednesday.
Four people were reportedly killed, while several others were injured
in the fracas which was stopped after the intervention of security
agencies.
A source that no fewer than 15 commercial buses were set on fire,
while 12 others were vandalised.
Makeshift stalls in the Mosafejo Motor Park were also torched, leaving
traders in the park mourning their losses.
When the source visited the scene of the incident on Wednesday, the
atmosphere was still tense as men of the Nigeria Police Force and some
soldiers were observed patrolling the area.
The motor park, usually filled with vehicles, was deserted as the
police armoured tanks and patrol vans took over the space.
Broken bottles, shards of glass from shattered windscreens and
pebbles, said to have been deployed by some of the hoodlums during the
fight, littered the road.
Bloodstains dotted the Oshodi Roundabout, where a man was said to have
been shot dead and his corpse taken away by the police.
A vehicle was still burning as of 1pm when firstclass newsline passed the area.
Around the same time, a police van manned by police officers was
observed by our correspondent taking some teenagers away.
A source told a source that the fight involved three groups ─Big
London boys, Railway boysandUnder-bridge boys.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fight
started after the police ordered that there should be a stop in hemp
smoking in the motor park.
The move was said to have been supported by theBig London boys, which
brought them in conflict with theRailwayandUnder-bridgegangs who saw
them as an ally of the police.
She said, "That was the beginning of the fight. TheRailway boysand
theUnder-bridge boysusually conspire to wage war against theBig London
boyswhich also hadOlu Omoas a leading member.
"Yesterday (Tuesday), the allied gangs struck again and killed four
people. One particularly was popular here and we call himAfari. A man
was shot in the eye, another in the hand and leg. Several others are
in critical conditions in hospitals."
Another witness, who did not identify herself, said one Idris was cut
with machete in the buttocks, leg and hand.
"No one knows if he will survive the attack because his condition is
critical," she said.
When a source rossed over to the area where
theUnder-bridgeandRailwaygroups had their camp, he met some of the men
who alleged that the fight was sponsored by theBig Londongang.
"It was around 11pm on Tuesday that they came here. They were many in
theBig Londongroup. They had the police backing them and they want to
drive us away from here. They descended on our vehicles and set many
of them ablaze which you can see for yourself.
"They shot and injured three of our people, who have been rushed to
hospital. We don't know why they are after us and this fight could
have been bloodier, but we decided to be calm," a man in the group,
who did not identify himself, said.
Another member of the group, who equally declined identification,
showed our correspondent an injury he sustained in his hand.
He said, "They shot at so many of us. This was where I was shot. Those
guys were many. They shot at about 100 of us and burnt many buses."
Some of the traders, whose stalls were burnt, appealed for
government's intervention.
Mrs. Taiwo Olajide, a mother of three and dealer in soft drinks, said
she lost all her goods to the violence.
She said, "The hoodlums set fire on all the stalls in this park. They
have ruined our business. This is where I feed my children and keep
body and soul together."
Another trader, Mrs. Josephine Eze, said all her provisions were burnt.
A source also observed a cross-section of traders who were seated in
front of their shops, which were not affected by the fracas.
They lamented that they had not been able to operate their business
since the area was cordoned off by the police.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, while confirming
the incident, said one person was killed, adding that the police
recovered some weapons from the hoodlums.
He said, "There was an attempt to breach the peace at Oshodi. The
hoodlums, who were rival members of the NURTW, engaged in a fight of
supremacy over control of parks.
"In the process, about eight vehicles were burnt and 10 vandalised.
One person was killed. Five cutlasses and four expended cartridges
were recovered. Normalcy has been restored as adequate security has
been made to avert any further breach of the peace."
Nwosu added that the police arrested nine suspects in connection with the crime.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the NURTW,
Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede, has said the union will unravel the cause of
incessant violent clashes in Oshodi.
Scene of the violence
He spoke on Wednesday while inaugurating a five-man committee to find
out immediate and remote causes of the fracas in the area.
Agbede said the leadership of the union in the state would not fold
its arms and watch some persons destroy the peace being enjoyed in the
state.
He said, "We have been witnessing peace in Lagos State council of our
union since my administration came in.
We have restored peace in all our parks, so we shall find out the
cause of the present problems in Oshodi, with a view to finding a
lasting solution to them."
Firstclassnewsline.net

Credits: the punch