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Badoo: Ikorodu Residents Flee En Masse by chily11: 4:13pm On Jul 08, 2017 |
The gang had killed no fewer than 29
persons and injured several others in
the last few months.
During several visits to the community
in the course of the week, our
correspondents observed how
individuals and families in different
parts of the town were moving out with
some of their personal items to find
safety elsewhere .
A resident of Ori - Okuta in the Agric
area of Ikorodu , who was spotted by
one of our correspondents on Tuesday
leaving the community with two
children and two bags, said the cult
group had written a letter to their
neighbourhood that it would soon visit
the place.
The woman , who gave her name only as
Yemisi , said she was moving out of the
area to stay with her sister at the Ojota
area of the city for some time.
She said, “ For the past five days, we
have not slept at night at Ori - Okuta
because of the fear of Badoo . They
wrote a letter and pasted the copies at
strategic places in the neighbourhood ,
informing us of their imminent visit .
Nobody has had peace since then.
“ My husband is not in Lagos for now,
so I cannot afford to take chances with
the safety of my children and I. ”
Another woman , Mrs. Janet Ogunwale ,
who was also spotted carrying a bag on
her head with her little daughter
strapped to her back at the Agric Bus
stop , Ikorodu , on Wednesday afternoon,
told Saturday PUNCH that almost
everybody in the compound at Ori -
Okuta had fled for fear of being
attacked by Badoo .
She said, “ Ori - Okuta is almost a ghost
town now . Since words went round that
Badoo had written a letter to inform
residents that they were coming soon ,
everybody has been living in fear .
Nobody sleeps comfortably at night
anymore.
“ It is not as if there are no more people
in the area, but the number has
drastically reduced since news of the
letter got round . Though my landlord
tried to allay my fears , I had made up
my mind to leave as many of our
neighbours had moved out already .”
A community leader in the area, who
identified himself as Alhaji Kazeem
Lawal, told Saturday PUNCH that since
receiving the threat letter from the
group , those of them remaining in the
neighbourhood had organised
themselves into clusters to patrol the
area at night .
He said that even though many houses
had burglar - proof windows and steel
doors, they were not taking chances as
according to reports , Badoo members
cut such iron protections with saws
after blowing a powdery substance into
apartments to make occupants to fall
asleep.
Lawal said, “ Since the police have failed
in tackling Badoo , we have to take
charge of our security . It is true that
many residents have fled their houses
because they don’ t want to die and
nobody blames them ; those of us who
are still here cannot just fold our hands
and say nothing will happen.
“ We have formed ourselves into several
groups, patrolling the entire
neighbourhood at night . If you come to
Ori- Okuta at night , you ’ll think it is day
time because the number of residents
you would see outside will surprise
you . We put our hope in God.”
The fear of the killer- cult group has
also hit residents of other communities
in Ikorodu like Odogunyan, Igbogbo,
Ebutte, Ibeshe and Ogijo , some of who
have also been fleeing their houses to
take refuge with relatives and friends in
other places .
A community development association
head in the Odogunyan area of the
town, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, told one of our
correspondents that apart from the
tenants, many landlords and their
families had moved to other parts of
Lagos where they have houses .
He said with the spate of killings
perpetrated by the gang in recent days
and the failure of security agencies to
check their nefarious activities ,
everybody in the town was living in
fear .
He said, “ The issue of Badoo is no
longer a joking matter and that is why
everywhere you go in Ikorodu today,
people are doing all they can to
improve security around their
immediate surroundings .
“ In Odogunyan here, I know at least
three landlords who have locked their
buildings and relocated with their
families to other parts of Lagos where
they have houses . Many people are
moving to areas they consider safe .”
Security agencies hold midnight meeting
with traditional rulers , herbalists , others
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police
Command and other security agencies
in the state have met with traditional
rulers , herbalists, community leaders
and other stakeholders in Ikorodu to
discuss the security situation .
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the
meeting held at Sabo Junction , opposite
Ojokoro Cemetery , Ikorodu , between
11.30pm on Thursday and 1 am on
Friday.
A security source, who was privy to the
meeting, said it was part of the
strategies to end the criminal reign of
the cult in Ikorodu and its environs .
The source said senior officers of the
state police command , Rapid Response
Squad , State Intelligence Bureau ,
Department of State Services , Force
Criminal Investigation and Intelligence
Department , the Nigerian Army, the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence
Corps and the Lagos State
Neighbourhood Safety Corps , attended
the meeting .
He said, “ The meeting started around
11.30pm and ended around 1 am . It was
thorough and all the stakeholders were
there. The officers deliberated with
traditional rulers , community leaders ,
religious leaders , herbalists, transport
workers and local vigilance groups , on
how to fight these criminals to a
standstill. We have all agreed to work
together. Divisional Police Officers in
the area will coordinate the operations
of the vigilance groups .
“ It was also made clear that if there is
any form of criminality henceforth, the
traditional ruler and other stakeholders
in the affected community will be
summoned for questioning . Residents
were advised to desist from jungle
justice with a clear warning that
anybody caught in the act will face the
full weight of the law.”
A resident of Ipakodo , Ikorodu , Mr .
Michael Olaniyan, however , blamed the
police for not doing enough to protect
the lives of people in the area, saying,
“ I don’ t know why the police have not
been patrolling this area; maybe it is
because we have put our fate in our
hands by keeping vigil outside to
protect ourselves .
“ We now have a roster ; civil servants
and those who have to resume work
early take shifts on weekends while
artisans and others who don’ t have to
be at work very early keep watch on
weekdays.”
Olaniyan identified poor power supply
in the area as another factor
encouraging criminal activities at night .
Meanwhile, another resident of
Ikorodu , Habeeb Olayiwola, has raised
the alarm that some vigilantes in the
area had started cashing in on the fight
against the deadly gang by extorting
money from residents who return late
from work .
Allegedly, the vigilantes would threaten
to accuse such residents of being Badoo
members if they refused to bribe them .
Habeeb posted on a Facebook forum ,
Ikorodu Ambassadors Group , his
encounter with some vigilantes while
he was returning home from work in a
truck on Wednesday.
He wrote, “ Before I knew it , they had
all started banging the truck with all
kinds of items they had in their hands.
None of them heard me out as they
were responding with abusive words
and insisting that I give them money. I
had to offer one of the two N 500 notes I
had with me to one of the leaders . He
rejected it , telling me they wanted
N5 ,000 . I realised that 85 per cent of
them were miscreants. The same thing
happens when people leave for work
around 5 am .”
Habeeb urged community leaders to
check the excesses of the vigilantes.
The Police Public Relations Officer in
Lagos , Olarinde Famous- Cole, said
series of operations were ongoing in
Ikorodu , adding that more arrests had
been made.
He said, “ The Commissioner of Police ,
Fatai Owoseni, has given a marching
order that all criminal elements in
Ikorodu must be flushed out. The DCP
in charge of Operations , the RRS
Commander, and other security chiefs
have been up and doing and they are
meeting with all the relevant
stakeholders .”
On the allegation of extortion by
vigilantes, the PPRO said it would be
directed to the appropriate quarters for
investigations and necessary actions.
In the meantime, churches in many
parts of Ikorodu have cancelled late
night programmes , especially on
Fridays, pending when security would
improve in the town.
For instance, the Resident Pastor of
Divine Anchor Ministries , Offin ,
Igbogbo, Mathew Odeniyi , on Thursday
said they had cancelled all vigils and
church programmes extending beyond
9pm .
According to him , this was to prevent
putting the lives of members at risk.
He said , “ Even though we are protected
by the Most High , as true believers of
the word of God, we must not also fail
to use our initiative when the need
arises .
“ In the face of growing tension across
Ikorodu at the moment, following the
onslaught of Badoo ; as a church , we felt
it would be wise to suspend all late
night programmes , including Friday
vigils until the situation improves .
“ All our meetings and activities have
been limited to daytime so as to keep
ourselves safe and not become easy
targets for miscreants .”
A top member of a church in the
Adamo area of Ikorodu , simply
identified as Yemi, also told Saturday
PUNCH that Friday vigils and other
programmes running beyond 8 :00pm
had also been cancelled for now due to
security fears .
He said , “ The church leadership has
ordered all programmes to end by
8: 00pm because of the security
situation .”
Meanwhile, residents of Owode -
Ajegunle and Irawo communities along
Ikorodu Road have been living in fear
since the cult group struck in the area
early in the week, killing about three
people in a church .
Findings also revealed that many
residents of the area have been moving
to places like Ketu, Shangisha, and
Ikosi, where they have relatives and
friends to take temporary refuge .
Similarly , several parents in Mowe and
Ibafo communities along the Lagos -
Ibadan Expressway on Friday
prevented their children from going to
school due to a message being
circulated online that members of
Badoo were planning to attack the area.
News of the attack by the group is also
being circulated through text messages,
raising apprehension among residents .
The message, seen by one of our
correspondents , read, “ I just got
information that there are flyers at
Mowe that the Badoo cult and a rival
cult are coming to Mowe on Friday , July
7, 2017, to fight due to a killing that
happened around NASFAT area
recently.
“ Please let’s be security conscious .
Kindly forward to your loved ones in
the Mowe /Ibafo axis .”
A parent in the Ibafo area, Mr . Sina
Fagbemi, told Saturday PUNCH that he
did not allow his children to attend
school on Friday as a result of the
message.
He said, “ To miss a day in school is
better than living with regret all my life .
Of course , it could have been a false
alert but it is better to approach issues
like this with seriousness . I told my
wife and the kids to stay indoors
throughout Friday .”
Another parent , Mrs. Cynthia Oni , told
Saturday PUNCH that it was authorities
of the school her five- year - old son
attends called to warn her not to bring
him to school on Friday because of the
threat.
She said , “ Before they even called , I had
made up my mind that I wouldn’ t let
him go to school .”
Ogun police deploy policemen against cult
attack
Reacting to the threat, Ogun State Police
Public Relations Officer, Abimbola
Oyeyemi, asked residents of Mowe and
its environs to go about their business
without fear .
He said Special Forces had been
deployed in the area over fear of an
imminent attack by some cult members
celebrating a festival .
Oyeyemi described as untrue the report
that the cult was planning to attack
Ogun communities , saying the rumour
was the work of mischief makers.
He said , “ Let me state categorically that
there is no Badoo attack on Mowe; the
community is calm. People are not
packing out.
“ There are , however , two villages
where we have a report of some cultists
planning to strike to celebrate 7 /7 or 9/ 9
as they call it . We have deployed some
policemen there. We also have our
mobile policemen , Federal Special Anti -
Robbery Squad , among others. ”
But the RRS of the Lagos State Police
Command on Friday announced that it
had arrested 87 persons suspected of be
members of the Badoo cult.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the arrests
were carried out in collaboration with
other security agencies and local
vigilance groups .
The suspects were arrested in hideouts
at Owutu and Odogunyan areas of
Ikorodu town .
The RRS further revealed that the police
have declared another 20 people
wanted over the activities of the group .
Some of those declared wanted for cult-
related killings in the community were
identified as follows : Moshood , aka
Mosho ; Alfa, aka King of Boys; Papa;
Fela; Alakoto and Chukwudi .
Others are Agbara, ‘O/ C’, Femi , aka FM ;
Pencil; Odidan ; Jaru ; Allen; Bush ;
Happiness; Fagbo; Junior ; Nuru and
Jamiu.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the
suspects were identified through
intelligence sourced through
investigation by security agencies in
Ikorodu .
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