Six killed, 12 injured as thugs embark on gun duel

At least six people were feared killed and 12 others injured when thugs of the same political party today clashed at the Amukoko area of Ajegunle, Lagos State.

Eye witnesses said that the thugs, who were on a door-to-door campaign, had a dispute which resulted in shooting. One Raimi was shot in the eyes and died.

As the fight snowballed, five more were alleged to have been killed, with 12 others severely injured. A female trader was also shot in the buttocks.

According to one of the eye witnesses, supporters of the political party were on a campaign train, moving along Apasa Street, when all hell broke loose.

A resident said: “Some boys at Apasa Street opened fire on a man. The man’s name is Raimi. For reasons we couldn’t understand, the issue degenerated into a street war. It was a reprisal attack that led to the death of the five other men. I tell you, 12 people were badly injured. Raimi was shot in the eye. One of the men, who shot him, drew closer to his body which was writhing on the ground and pumped more bullets into his chest. They apparently wanted to make sure he was dead.”

The resident noted that some boys, known as Campus Boys, who felt pained by Raimi’s death, took it upon themselves, to avenge his death. The streets turned red with blood.

As the men opened fire on another, residents scampered in different directions. Shops owners closed shops and motorists around the area, reversed. A woman was said to have been shot in the buttocks as she attempted to quickly lock her shop and bolt.

One Akeem, said: “There is an ongoing feud between Campus Boys and Apasa youths. The Campus Boys always seem to be ready to fight at any time, just as their enemy, the Apasa youths.”

Akeem said that Raimi’s brother, a Personal Assistant (P.A) to a popular musician in the area, was in Ibadan when he heard about his kid brother’s death.

He said: "When the man was called that his brother had been killed, he said the corpse should not be buried until his arrival. Raimi was the only brother and the last born of their late parents.”

The Lagos State Police Spokesman, Kenneth Nwosu, who confirmed the clash, denied that six people were killed.

He said: “It’s not true that six people were killed! But unconfirmed report says two; we however don’t have official report to that effect. Maybe they evacuated the corpses before police arrived at the scene. We didn’t see any corpse and can’t confirm what we hadn’t seen! Yes, there was a clash between supporters of the same political party during a house-to-house campaign. Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.”