*Mixed reactions trail
aftermath of jungle justice
Less than 24 hours
after an alleged ritual killers’ tunnel was discovered at the Obadeyi, Bus Stop
area of Ijaiye, Lagos State, and with at least two being burnt alive,
detectives attached to the Lagos State Police move in and took over
the area.
This was even as the
Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of Ijaiye Police Station got injured
while attempting to control the motley crowd and looting.
A police on duty, said:
“One of the objects hauled at the policemen, injured the DPO in the eye,
leading to the arrest of an undisclosed number of people.”
A section of the mob,
for reason yet unknown, went wild in the afternoon. The mob carried out series
of attacks on houses and shops and also seized the opportunity to loot.
Explaining while some
of the houses were being attacked, someone said: “It’s hard to believe that
such killings were going in that tunnel, close to those houses and shops, yet
the inhabitants claimed not to know.”
Among the houses vandalized
are a twin building shopping complex overlooking the tunnel, a two-storey
building opposite and two other houses on that row.
A number of shops
around, including the Star Filling Station were also under lock and key when
our correspondent visited the scene as the red and yellow tapes of the police
were visible on the buildings and shops.
There were a good
number of police vehicles and officers stationed at the scene.
Some of the policemen,
who spoke with New Telegraph on condition of anonymity, said that they had been
ordered to be ground until next week.
The policemen refrained
from dwelling on the operational model being adopted to either apprehend more
of the suspected ritual killers or rescue victims believed to be trapped in the
tunnel. They, however, disclosed that the burnt victims, shot to three
yesterday.
Some of the police
vehicles on grounds are from different police divisions. The vehicles include
those of Alakuko, New Oko Oba, Abbatoir, Ijaiye, Dopemu, Pen Cinema, Isokoko,
Alagbado, Meiran, Ikotun as well as vehicles of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety
Corps.
Chief Nurudeen Olaonipekun,
the Baale of AIT Ilapo, urged the Lagos State Government to do everything to
get to the root of the matter.
His words: “I urge the
Lagos State Government to move fast; first to ensure that all the victims who
might be in the tunnel are rescued. Then, unravel the issue for the world to
see what has been going on there for months or even years.”
Tunde Oke, a young
resident of the nearby Alaja Close, said he was shocked with the discovery and
still finds it difficult to wrap his head around the information.
He added: “I was
shocked with the discovery, and up till now, I’m still unable to fully process
the fact that such a terrible tunnel was discovered in this area. It’s
unfortunate that people are attacking and looting houses and shops around, but
do you really blame them? It’s hard to believe that people who live around here
and conduct businesses here, don’t know what was going on.”
Some residents in the community,
yesterday, began to express doubt over those suspected of being ritual killers
and burnt on Tuesday.
The residents told our
correspondent that there was no such thing as ritual den because they had been
in the area for several years and none of their children had ever gone missing.
A resident said: “ I
don’t believe there was a ritual killing den in the tunnel. The man they found
hiding inside the tunnel could be a mad man. But they mob burnt him out of
impatience, and without proper investigations or evidence.”
Another resident said:
“Some hoodlums have seized the opportunity of the panic and confusion in the
area to vandalize houses and steal properties. They claimed that houses being
destroyed and shops being destroyed are hideout for ritual killers.”
Oguntoye, also a
resident in the area, said: “I’m a witness; we have never heard of such evil in
our area. The woman, who they claimed was screaming for help, was never found.
The story was a lie; the people killed might be bad people, but I’m sure they
are not ritual killers. People found them in the tunnel and started burning
them. They didn’t find any implicating thing on them.
“To ascertain that there is no den, we told
our people in the street to enter the tunnel and tie a handkerchief, so that
they won’t be mistaken for a ritual killer. We told them that anybody caught in
the tunnel should be brought out.
“When the boys came
out, they said there was nothing like ritual den or room in the tunnel. The
only problem now is that thugs have diverted from the incidence to looting of
people’s property.”
Ahmed Bala, another
resident said: “Since police intervened, they have found nothing. People are
living in the house where the tunnel linked to, and it was deserted due to
flood. I’m very familiar with this area. People only framed the story. Up till
now, we have not seen any incriminating evidence to show that there is a den in
the tunnel. The persons killed at
Ajala were just unfortunate because there is no den in the tunnel.
“The clothes people
said they saw in the abandoned house where the tunnel led to, is a normal thing
to see in an abandoned house where people formerly lived. There were no
bloodstains as people alleged. I know because this house is behind my house. There
were people living in the house before. It was only deserted due to flood, and
it is not a hideout for ritual killers. The people that were killed yesterday
may be mad people, because nobody can live inside this tunnel. If rain falls,
the tunnel is always flooded and no human can survive in it. I insist that here
is no genuine reason for killing those men.”
Another resident, Kemi,
said: “I have been here since 1980, there is nothing like a ritual den in the tunnel.
Whenever it rains, the tunnel gets blocked and our area would be flooded. So,
how come there is a den in the tunnel when it is flooded? Those area boys
claiming to look for ritual killers only came here to loot houses and shops. Our
houses have nothing to do with the tunnel. The tunnels are very small. You can
barely stand in the tunnel, so where is the ritual house there? The people
burnt are just unfortunate.”
According to another
resident, Abiola, houses built closer to the tunnel were vandalized and looted.
She said: “Hoodlums
have destroyed my house and my husband’s motorbike. Hoodlums only seized the
opportunity to loot houses. My entire shovels, ladders, which I used to rent
out, had been carted away. Since we have been in this area, our children and
relative have never gone missed.”
Another resident, Mrs
Ajala, said: “Hoodlums threatened to kill me because my house was close to the
tunnel. My children and I had to pass the night at our neighbours.’ We couldn’t
sleep in our house because hoodlums threatened to kill us. By the time I got to
my house this morning, all my properties had been stolen. Help us tell security
agencies to come and scare away the hoodlums stealing here because there is no
such thing as ritual den here.”
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