For
years now, Mushin and Fadeyi areas of Lagos State have been in the eyes
of the storm. Several innocent people are killed in the series of yetto
be understood reasons for gang wars.
Indeed, the killings were so much that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, attributed the sharp increase in murder in the review of 2013 achievements of his command, to killings in Mushin.
The situation at Mushin, however, came to a head in April, 2014, after the gangs allegedly clashed and, as usual, under the guise of the gang war, robbed several buildings and vandalised several vehicles.
Just days after the attacks on the houses, a visibly angry Manko ordered 24 hours surveillance of the areas, leading to the arrest of three key young men, believed to be behind the disturbances and incessant killings. Since their arrest, strangely, uneasy calm has reigned in Mushin and Fadeyi.
Reacting to their arrest on April, 24, 2014, police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide said: “The Command has arrested the kingpins of gangsters that had rendered Mushin and its environs uninhabitable to citizens. Toba Ajiboye, Yusuf Akinwale and Adigun Oriyomi alias Muda were all apprehended at a hideout in Karimu Street, Mushin, while hatching a plan to attack Oshodi.
The said Adigun Oriyomi had been on the police wanted list for cases of murder. Meanwhile, manhunt for other gangsters continues as the command will not rest until total calm is achieved.” Before the arrest of the suspects, different teams of policemen had been drafted to maintain peace in Mushin.
But their presence had not deterred the killers or killings. A police source said that the suspects are being kept presently in different cells, in different locations, for security reasons. Manko. Insert: Toba and Muda The source added: “The investigation is still on-going and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of operations, Mr. Tunde Shobulom, is personally handling the matter himself.
The suspects would be charged for murder, for all the killings they had carried out in Mushin and Fadeyi. Since their arrest, didn’t you notice that the violence in the areas had reduced?” Some policemen who had been monitoring the orgy of killings in Mushin alleged that, ‘some powerful politicians’ were behind the crisis.
They explained that sometimes after such mayhem and killings, the police would arrest close to 500 suspected gangsters and before they even reached police stations, calls would have started coming in from powerful citizens, asking for the release of these suspects. A policeman said: “There was a period that over 18 people were killed within two weeks.
A woman’s home was attacked in Mushin and her baby shot in the face and burnt alive! Sometimes you’d find fresh corpses inside gutters. If the police authourity had acted decisively the way it wanted, people would have said we were taking sides in the fight.
There was a time an Anti-Robbery officer ran to tell a DPO that the gangs had started killing at Akala again and the DPO asked him if the people being killed were members of his family. Nobody wanted to get caught in the fray! We don’t know these powerful people who are behind the gangs, but we know they are politicians.”
Another police source said that when operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), were drafted to Mushin, many of the residents breathed a sigh of relief.
But the residents complained they had noticed that those arrested for perpetrating trouble and killings were often sighted barely days after they had been apprehended.
“They come back, terrorising people. There was a case of a former Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area, who tried to tackle the mayhem in Mushin passionately, but he was dismissed for his troubles. That made us to know that some powerful personalities are involved in the Mushin crisis.
“Residents there had been living in fear for too long. Mushin has become a lawless place, where a policeman would see a lady being raped and would turn blind eyes. Even if you arrest the person, you’d find him on the streets tomorrow. Before you start interrogating the person, a notable person would start calling for his release.
A policeman once saw some members of these gangs harassing a young lady, he intervened, attempting to save the girl, but they ganged up against him, using sticks that had nails to hit him. When he staggered to his DPO’s office, with his body covered in blood, the DPO angrily asked what he went there to do.
“The DPO told the wounded officer that he was being overzealous. Since then, most policemen usually turned blind eyes to anything going on in Mushin. We want to work, but some certain members of the society will not allow us to do our work and, believe me, no policeman wants to lose his job or his life unnecessarily.”
The policemen revealed that most of the residents are thankful for the recent peace in Mushin, praying that it lasts.
Indeed, the killings were so much that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, attributed the sharp increase in murder in the review of 2013 achievements of his command, to killings in Mushin.
The situation at Mushin, however, came to a head in April, 2014, after the gangs allegedly clashed and, as usual, under the guise of the gang war, robbed several buildings and vandalised several vehicles.
Just days after the attacks on the houses, a visibly angry Manko ordered 24 hours surveillance of the areas, leading to the arrest of three key young men, believed to be behind the disturbances and incessant killings. Since their arrest, strangely, uneasy calm has reigned in Mushin and Fadeyi.
Reacting to their arrest on April, 24, 2014, police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide said: “The Command has arrested the kingpins of gangsters that had rendered Mushin and its environs uninhabitable to citizens. Toba Ajiboye, Yusuf Akinwale and Adigun Oriyomi alias Muda were all apprehended at a hideout in Karimu Street, Mushin, while hatching a plan to attack Oshodi.
The said Adigun Oriyomi had been on the police wanted list for cases of murder. Meanwhile, manhunt for other gangsters continues as the command will not rest until total calm is achieved.” Before the arrest of the suspects, different teams of policemen had been drafted to maintain peace in Mushin.
But their presence had not deterred the killers or killings. A police source said that the suspects are being kept presently in different cells, in different locations, for security reasons. Manko. Insert: Toba and Muda The source added: “The investigation is still on-going and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, in charge of operations, Mr. Tunde Shobulom, is personally handling the matter himself.
The suspects would be charged for murder, for all the killings they had carried out in Mushin and Fadeyi. Since their arrest, didn’t you notice that the violence in the areas had reduced?” Some policemen who had been monitoring the orgy of killings in Mushin alleged that, ‘some powerful politicians’ were behind the crisis.
They explained that sometimes after such mayhem and killings, the police would arrest close to 500 suspected gangsters and before they even reached police stations, calls would have started coming in from powerful citizens, asking for the release of these suspects. A policeman said: “There was a period that over 18 people were killed within two weeks.
A woman’s home was attacked in Mushin and her baby shot in the face and burnt alive! Sometimes you’d find fresh corpses inside gutters. If the police authourity had acted decisively the way it wanted, people would have said we were taking sides in the fight.
There was a time an Anti-Robbery officer ran to tell a DPO that the gangs had started killing at Akala again and the DPO asked him if the people being killed were members of his family. Nobody wanted to get caught in the fray! We don’t know these powerful people who are behind the gangs, but we know they are politicians.”
Another police source said that when operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), were drafted to Mushin, many of the residents breathed a sigh of relief.
But the residents complained they had noticed that those arrested for perpetrating trouble and killings were often sighted barely days after they had been apprehended.
“They come back, terrorising people. There was a case of a former Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area, who tried to tackle the mayhem in Mushin passionately, but he was dismissed for his troubles. That made us to know that some powerful personalities are involved in the Mushin crisis.
“Residents there had been living in fear for too long. Mushin has become a lawless place, where a policeman would see a lady being raped and would turn blind eyes. Even if you arrest the person, you’d find him on the streets tomorrow. Before you start interrogating the person, a notable person would start calling for his release.
A policeman once saw some members of these gangs harassing a young lady, he intervened, attempting to save the girl, but they ganged up against him, using sticks that had nails to hit him. When he staggered to his DPO’s office, with his body covered in blood, the DPO angrily asked what he went there to do.
“The DPO told the wounded officer that he was being overzealous. Since then, most policemen usually turned blind eyes to anything going on in Mushin. We want to work, but some certain members of the society will not allow us to do our work and, believe me, no policeman wants to lose his job or his life unnecessarily.”
The policemen revealed that most of the residents are thankful for the recent peace in Mushin, praying that it lasts.
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