Several houses were burnt on Thursday morning as
the feud between Ajah and Ilaje residents escalated over the collection of
levies from Ilaje tipper drivers.
As at Friday, the community was deserted as
scores of residents had fled the area following Thursday’s violence which was
said to have lasted over six hours. The PUNCH had on Wednesday reported a
violent clash on Monday, between rival groups belonging to both communities at
Ajah. The clash was attributed to a feud over the collection of levies from
Keke Napep operators.
A resident named Seyi Olatuga told Saturday
PUNCH that her mother’s house was burnt in the ensuing violence. “Since
the problem between Ilaje and Ajah indigenes started on Monday, some of the
Iljae residents abandoned their homes. I wasn’t at home at the time and advised
my mother to move out of her house for a while at least until peace had
returned to the area.
“On Thursday morning, I accompanied my mother to
her house; she wanted to pick up a few things. This was between 8 am and 9 am.
To our surprise when we got to Ilaje, there were many youths from Ajah already
there. They were armed with guns and had kegs of fuel. They started attacking
Ilaje residents and although the youths tried to fight back, there was little
they could really do because they did not have guns.
“These boys were just moving from house to house,
dousing them with fuel before setting them ablaze. They didn’t just set the
houses ablaze; they would wait behind and make sure the house got burnt
completely before leaving. Over eight houses were burned that morning on White
House Road and Ilaje Road,” Olatuda said.
Punch
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