SAN FRANCISCO, April 14, (THEWILL) – The Lagos State Police Command said it has arrested no fewer than 130 suspects in connection with the unrest and attacks by hoodlums in various parts of the state during the COVID-19 lockdown.
THEWILL recalls that residents of some communities in Ogun and Lagos states had turned themselves into vigilantes to resist attacks by hoodlums known as the Awawa Boys and One Million Boys.
In a bid to curb the attacks, youths formed themselves into vigilante groups and reportedly clashed with some of the hoodlums, creating tension in some of the affected areas.
The hoodlums had taken advantage of the lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic to dispossess unsuspecting members of the public of their valuables in areas such as Capitol Road, Amowo, Dopemu, Oko-Oba, Maroko, Abule-Egba, Ogba, Ejigbo, Idimu, Isheri-Oshun and Agege.
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The suspects, made up of 123 males and seven females, who were arrested by police personnel from the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, and the New Oko-Oba, Oke-Odo, Abattoir and Maroko divisions, were paraded at the command headquarters, Ikeja.
The state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, said the suspects took advantage of the border towns connecting Lagos and Ogun states, adding that they were arrested in connection with the unrest in the state and for violating the lockdown order.
Odumosu stated, “This thing started about three days ago, when miscreants in Ogun State decided to act above the law.
“They tried to push their luck into Lagos State through the border towns, but we got the information early enough and deployed sufficient personnel of the command in the border towns and that made them not to infiltrate Lagos.
“In the past, whenever these miscreants came to Lagos to attack residents, they go back through the border towns and this had always created tension.
“So, people living in Agege, Alakuko, Meiran, Alagbado, Iju and Iyana Ipaja areas that are close to Ogun State started panicking and a lot of posts were circulated on the social media that were purely fabricated lies and that generated a lot of tension.
“So, since they feel that the miscreants were coming to attack them, they took the law into their own hands to defend themselves by mobilising themselves and this created more tension.
“Up till this moment, there has not been any report of anybody being robbed, or raped, or houses and vehicles being burnt or vandalised.”
Odumosu added that he had gone round to restore confidence in the affected areas, but urged the residents not to take the law into their own hands.
