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By Christopher Oji
Two people have been killed and many others injured as gunmen stormed Ijegun Egba community, in Ori Ade Local Government, Lagos State, on Monday and Tuesday.
The deceased victims were identified as a 40 years old sickle cell patient, Gbenga Areagbo, and Oladapo Olukoya, whose body was reportedly taken away by the killers to Ibasa through the jetty.
It was gathered that trouble started last week Thursday when some unidentified men from Ibasa on the other side of the river, armed to the teeth, sacked the jetty at Ijegun Egba and started harassing and robbing residents of the community.
An indigene of the town, Kudus Fadiku, while speaking with our correspondent, narrated the incidents of that day, “It all started last Thursday when some armed thugs from Ibasa invaded the jetty in Ijegun Egba and began to attack our people.
“They identified an indigene of our town, Wasiu Ademola, and they descended on him. He was seriously injured and they wanted to take him to Ibasa through the river when he lied to them that he is not from Ijegun Egba and that he was a policeman. That was when they released him.”
Another resident, Kazeem, said, “We reported the attack to the police at Satellite Town Police Station but they insisted that our town was peaceful.
“The gunmen came again on Friday to the Zone 2 area of the town and started harassing residents in their bid to identify members of our community. One of them, Sodiq, was the one that was identifying people for them.
“They took advantage of that to rob and attack residents and passersby in the area when they did not find any of their targets.”
Some Ijegun Egba residents also stated that the skirmishes took a deadly turn on Monday when the hoodlums, who were reportedly led by Evico, Teslim, Ligali and Jamiu, stormed the jetty area again and shot Oladapo Adekoya to death.
Kazeem said, “They shot him and also used cutlasses and axes on him before taking his corpse to Ibasa through the river.”
One of the leaders of Ijegun Egba, Hon. Saeed Ayinde, while speaking on the death of Adeagbo, said, “I had gone to FCID, Alagbon, for a matter when I got the news of his killing.
“He was sitting down with one of his friends, Lateef Arowolo, at Ade Oshodi junction in Ijegun Egba, when the hoodlums invaded the area with arms and ammunition.
“They came in about three vehicles and motorcycles, brandishing guns and cutlasses.”
Ayinde added that, “Lateef only narrowly escaped death but they attacked Gbenga, who could not run away when they invaded the area.
“They asked if he was Lateef and when he told them that he was not, they shot him at close range and used axes to cut him down.
“We have also reported at the Area ‘E’ Police Command in Festac but, up till now, nobody has been arrested in connection with the killings and attacks.”
Efforts to get the reaction of the image-maker in charge of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, failed as calls to his mobile phone line were not answered.
