According to residents, trouble
started after a cap white cap chief, suspecting there would outbreak of
violence, ordered the masquerade to go back.
Some youths in the community were
said to have revolted against the order, arguing that they have spent money on
clothes and drinks.
In twinkle of an eye, the youths
embarked on free for all, maiming and injuring. Two men were alleged to have
died in the fracas.
The fight which started on Friday
snowballed the following day.
Yesterday, the Lagos State
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, was on ground to assess the
situation. Police vans and Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), was also sighted
on ground.
A resident said: “The fight started
between the hoodlums on Saturday after a masquerade, Adakeja, was ordered by a
white cap chief to go back into the temple after an intelligence report was
received about a possible eruption of violence.”
It was further gathered that some
youths from Onala, Evans and Otaki streets, who were fully prepared for the
festival, having bought drinks and clothes, immediately went on the rampage,
protesting the order. They soon started destroying vehicles parked along roads
and looted shops.
The protest snowballed on Sunday,
with Onala youths invading Okepopo and Odunfa streets, where they continued
with looting. Two persons allegedly died during the clash between the youths
from Onala and Okepopo.
A witness, who wished to remain
anonymous, said: “It was the authority concerns that halted the masquerade
festival. Even my father’s house was not spare as the youths went on the rampage.
I had to run away from home, to sleep in a friend’s house.”
The Owoseni urged parents in the
community to tell their children and wards to shield their swords and embrace
peace.
Owoseni appealed to the
Community Development Association to identify those causing trouble in the
community.
Owoseni further advised the
community to take down the name and plate number of policemen taking side in
any crisis that happens, so that appropriate action would be taken against them.
Owoseni added: “I’m ready to put an
end to the incessant crisis rocking the Island if only you, the residents, are
ready to work with the police. Whenever we make arrest, you don’t come out to
testify against such suspects; that alone is a drawback for us in trying to
prosecute the person.”
Alhaji Wasiu Onibudo, a resident,
said: “We cannot sleep with our eyes close since the clashed started on
Saturday. We appreciate the presence of the commissioner of police, who came to
have firsthand assessment of the situation.”
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