Why residents burnt the Mushin Five

Since the burning of five suspected armed robbers in Mushin last Saturday, the mood of  the area has remained tense and sober.

The deceased were said to be part of a larger group based in the Akala area of Mushin, a street notorious for the sale of cocaine, heroin and other hard drugs.

CRIME DIGEST gathered that the area in which the incident was said to have occurred is known to residents as the Ilupeju part of the Mushin community (beyond the railway tracks).

A resident said, “That area where the robbers were said to have been terrorising is called Ilupeju. It is still a part of Mushin but those of us who live in Mushin know the area as Ilupeju.

“Those robbers were based in Akala  and would always move in groups from Akala to any area where they wanted to rob. After each robbery, these boys would return in the wee hours to eat, drink and play snooker. They had on previous occasions attacked Ilupeju.”

About seven armed men were said to have descended on the Ilupeju community at about 3 am last Saturday. Although residents admit there was indeed robbery, none was however willing to say who the victims were and how the robbers were captured.

“All I know is that our neighbourhood vigilantes were alerted to the situation immediately some of us became aware of the presence of the robbers. How the robbers were apprehended and overwhelmed is not clear to me, although two of them were able to escape. The remaining five were then beaten and dragged near Vono, where they were burnt.

“Their captors did this deliberately because the Vono area is mostly industrial and commercial; no residential houses are there. Maybe they didn’t want anyone to trace the incident to any home to avoid trouble.”

CRIME DIGEST gathered that a team of policemen from the Olosan Police Division  arrived at the scene of the incident before the suspected robbers were burnt. However, their captors had allegedly refused to hand them over to the police.

“There is no way the police would not have heard when the robbers were caught. The news spread like wild fire and a large crowd gathered at the post.  Although the police team pleaded with the crowd to hand over the boys to them, they refused. The Ilupeju community was scared of reprisals and that is the reason they burnt the boys.

“The residents could not trust the police. If those boys had lived, they would definitely come back to kill those who captured them. Law abiding citizens who live in Mushin have lost faith in the police force because they know all these boys.

“At Lasisi and Ojo streets are some MOPOL patrol vehicles permanently parked. These police teams are aware that the Akala boys are armed and dangerous but what do they do? Anytime they arrest any of them, all they do is beat them until their people come to buy their freedom with money,” another resident said. 

When the suspected robbers were set ablaze after they had been severely beaten, eyewitnesses claimed that the leader of the group known to his peers as Bode, did not go up in flames.

“You know these boys are usually involved in a lot of fetish things for protection. When all the boys were set on fire, Bode was the only one who didn’t burn but his other colleagues were burning. His head had to be broken with a piece of block before he eventually burned along with the rest.

“Bode was to celebrate his birthday in a few weeks. He had already paid a disc jockey N60,000 to retain his services for his birthday party. I learnt he told the DJ that he needed N1m to get everything in order for that day,” said the resident.

 Another member of the deceased five known as Rilwan, who was said to reside at No 1 Agbekolade Street, was an alleged dropout of a neighbouring secondary school.

In The PUNCH publication of Nov. 7, 2012, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ngozi Braide, confirmed the arrest of three persons in connection with the incident.

Braide said, “A full investigation has commenced into the incident, I cannot give details about the involvement of the arrested suspects for now.

“We have also invited the community leaders of the area where the incident took place. The police will surely get to the root of the matter.”

However, a source within the community hinted of the arrest of the chairman of the Community Development Authority and two other members. The source said the leaders were picked up so that they could probably reveal the identities of those who carried out the lynching.

The source said, “Three days ago, one of the Akala boys called Rotimi was taken into custody by Zone D. Rotimi was cleaning his gun in his room at his family home on Elegba Street when it accidentally went off and shot him in his palm. Of course, the loud noise attracted many people, including his relatives and neighbours, who rushed into his room to find out what happened. To their shock, they met Rotimi bleeding, with a gun. His uncle, Taye, then collected the gun from him and told everyone that he was going to throw it away.

“Rotimi eventually went to a roadside chemist to get his wound treated but the chemist told him that he couldn’t treat the wound until he had informed the police. It was the chemist who informed one of the police patrol teams stationed in Mushin and they came to arrest him and handed him over to the Area D police division.”

CRIME DIGEST gathered that locally- made pistols and other small arms are commonly found with the youth of Akala. “There is no type of phone or laptop you cannot buy at Akala. Even if it is not available, they would tell you to come back later in the day or the next day because the Akala boys are sure to rob and bring your specification.

“Those of us who live in Mushin know these boys but no one is ready to speak to the police because our safety cannot be guaranteed. What then happens to the informants when the boys are able to pay their way and buy their freedom?” another source said.

Braide in response to the text message and calls made to her phone, said, “It is not true that policemen were arrived the scene before the suspects were killed. From what I was briefed, the lynching took place at about 2am that morning. It was an RRS team on patrol who discovered the bodies burning and alerted the DPO of the Olosan division.  Arrests have already been made although I cannot confirm for now the identities of those arrested but investigation is on and the law must take it’s course. Even if the  suspects were guilty, no one is too take the law into their hands.”