An investigation into the activities of the military has revealed over 300 cases of atrocities perpetrated by the naval officials deployed to various locations in Majidun community in Lagos State. to protect either goods or citizens of the community. Almost half of those results in either personal gains or ethical lapses, SaharaReporters Investigation has found.

Many cases involve breaking into shops and people’s homes with guns and other ammunition for robbery. They displace people from their homes and prevent shop owners and businesses like ferry operators, farmers, fishers and sand diggers from carrying out their operations in Majidun community, Ikorodu, Lagos State.

Some cases involve sex scandals. Take for instance five randy Naval officers gang-raped a 24-year-old lady in this community. Most of these Naval officers are even living in rent-free apartments owned by some helpless widows. These officers were sent to the community to secure the lives and property of the residents of the community and arrest those involved in oil bunkering. The officers, however, have constituted themselves into a menace that needs urgent solution.

Yet, despite these abuses in the community, there have not been efforts on the part of the relevant authorities to punish erring officers for the myriads of atrocities they often perpetrate in the community. Most of the residents now live in fear.

Some of these officers found to have been involved in adulterous relationships with the married women of the community members, a violation of the military’s code of conduct, have been secretly transferred from this community with public knowledge and allowed to go quietly. According to some of the residents of Majidun who spoke with SaharaReporters, In some cases, the naval officers carry out the dastardly acts with the support of the Generals who ought to have brought them to their senses.

Residents said the officers had turned their community to a hotbed of violent sex because their women are now intimacy gadgets with whom the officers have sex without compunction even in broad daylight. Take for instance the case of a 24-year old lady who was raped by five naval officers and even beaten after the evil act.

The Military has kept mum, influential Nigerians and politicians to whom these series of atrocities have been reported have made no efforts to see that justice is done. Even the request of the residents that the menacing and life-threatening Naval officers packing from the community have not been met.

Nobody knows what often prompts these Navy Officers to go on raiding, beating and stealing foods from the shops of the residents living in the community. Are they underpaid? Is it just a deliberate show of power? The residents keep wondering what often informs the naval officers' act of wickedness.

Whatever the reason for the misbehavior, three things are clear; The military hasn’t corrected it, no panel has been set up to look into the victimization of the residents of Majidun community.No disciplinary committee has able set up to ensure that the abused find emotional closure by punishing their abusers. This reality makes the residents of Majidun keep living in perpetual fear.

WHERE IS MAJIDUN?


Road to Majidun
Majidun is a small, sleepy community is located in the west of the region of Ikorodu. The major occupation of the residents is fishing for the reason that they live in a riverine. By cause of the deepness of the river, canoes, boats, and ferries have access to pave their way on the river either for fishing or to transport goods that link other neighboring community to places like Mawere, Oke-Tapa, Isawo, and Arepo.

Baale of Majidun land, Chief Olusegun Omoyele said: “Their forefathers and ancestors established the community several years back which indeed the descendants continue to live in with pride. This place was filled with trees and bush before.”

It was a bright sunny day in the community, the atmosphere was free from rain. The cloud looks like mash potatoes. Some market women were seen selling their goods on a roughly tattered wooden ‘counter’ while a few were hawking cold sachet water popularly known as ‘pure water’ and soft drink.

Catching a glimpse of children in twos’, slightly covered with sands on their body as a result of rolling a spoilt motorbike tyre on the street with amusement written all over their faces as they chased each other up the street.

Getting to the Baale’s house, a middle-aged man which is in his early 50’s with a fringe of grey-white hair around his balding approached me with a grin, indeed, Chief Olusegun Omoyele.

Discussing how the whole incident of the Majidun boys who are believed to be involved in oil bunkering.

He said “When people started bursting pipes of petroleum in Arepo, which is about 40 km from Majidun, particularly a substance that can be sold to get money. Though, Majidun boys never vandalize pipes because there are none of the petroleum pipes that pass through the community. Why they are actually involved in that incidence years back is because of the river that passes through the community.”

Whenever they are transporting the vandalized petroleum over the river, he continued further, “The boys sometimes approach those people transporting the petroleum over our ‘own’ river that passes through our land and eventually tax the ferry drivers for their own share. This actually developed because there is no Job and they have nothing to feed on. These ferries pass this river to Ebute Meta and other places even to Lagos Island and as far as Epe.”

“At a time, some other boys at the other part of the communities started selling fuel in our area because this is a point where you can get a vehicle and it’s actually like a centre where it can be transported to various parts of the state. The boys partner with those guys that are transporting the fuel just to earn a living but they have never involved in bunkering.

“Actually, one of the things that counted against them is that they have ferry here that do transport and they can be seen.

“It got to a time that we stopped them not to join the guys to transport again because of fire incidents that always occur at the site of extraction or collating the kegs of petroleum. As at that moment, they stopped but to be sincere, the boys don’t have something that they will feed on."


HOW THE NAVY OFFICER ARRIVED IN MAJIDUN

According to the letter that the Baale and community members wrote to the former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola dated 29th November 2014, it read that: “On the 5th October 2014, Over 200 Naval officers invaded the entire community of Majidun with the impression and believe that they are on special surveillance to effect the arrest of some petroleum bunkers within and around the community.

“On the arrival of these naval officers into the community, we thought their operation will only cover and limited to the dwelling area of the suspects since there is no pipeline within or around Majidun community but to our greatest surprise, the whole community was encompassed to the extent that movement for the people in the community was unlawfully restrained and restricted, churches and mosques were taken over, people were sent packing from their houses, market and schools were closed down”

They send our people parking, the Baale of Majidun start his own story as I dragged my chair closer to him for the ease of conversation. “They live in our houses and make some of our people not to have a place to live. They came here on October 5, 2014, they live in our residence, use our Television, power without paying any amount.”

Discussing how the Naval officers have been deliberately creating problems and not willing to be helpful in any area to the community at large. He explained how the community is under the yoke of oppression from those sent to ensure peace and tranquillity.

“Naval officers have been terrorizing the community a lot. There have been several cases in past months, one of those cases was the case of a naval officer who got drunk and started shooting sporadically in the air and on sight. Some of the bullets shot hit three people and they were admitted at Lagos University Teaching Hospital LUTH, neither the naval officers nor the military as a whole did take care of them during all this time they are on the sick bed rather, it was the community members that rallied round in support of them. One of the boys who was shot is even in the community right now, he is currently handicap and he can’t do anything.

“Several months ago, they raided the community and also vandalized so many properties because one of the officers was in a shop playing the locally named ‘baba Ijebu’ lotto and his phone got missing, whether he misplaced his phone or the phone got stolen we don’t know. Of that reason, his naval officers’ friend and he started chasing all the boys. We wrote to some senators and those who are representing us at the House of Assembly as at that time that they should come to our aid but none of them show up. We even told them that these people are selling fuels here, what will you do? How can you help us?

Lagos State House Of Assembly Not Responding To the Community Agitation

After all these incidents, the community at large were invited and we all went to the House of Assembly through our representatives. When we got there, the lady who was raped by this debaucher was present too but they didn’t allow us in because they were in their chamber and it was the chairman of the committee that interviewed us. Actually, they didn’t allow us to take in our recording gadgets. After all the talk, we were told that they can’t do anything.

“There was another incidence that happened in the community. Some of the naval officers got drunk and they started shooting everywhere in the environment.

“What really happened was that some of the naval officers went to smoke with few of these boys and they try to exploit them but they resisted and these naval officers went to reinforce themselves and started shooting in the air. They maimed and demolish part of some houses of people. We called on the police but they could not come. They started chasing those boys all over the place, when they cannot identify the boys that beat up the navy office, The officers started vandalizing the place again. They broke some windscreens of some vehicles and destroyed houses.

“They are the alpha and the Omega of the community because whenever there is a fight in the community, they are the ones the wife will report to and in turn come back to discipline the husband. The community members are really in bondage. Do you know that their staying in the community does not allow the policemen in? They have sealed everywhere. Naval officers do what they like and if they need money, they will start exploiting people in the community unnecessarily.

“When the house they are living is leaking, they move to another house and remove the iron sheet to replace the one that is leaking. The funny part is that they have started selling our containers, the one they seized and meant for the women who struggled to raise the money to build this container. There is no way these ladies can feed right now as their source of income has been put in shortage.

“One of the things that baffled me is that the people who killed the soldiers, fought the police at the other community was given amnesty after a year or thereabout and my people who do not have hands in killing any soldiers and do not participate, only involve in selling’s’ are the one who does not have amnesty. Some of our boys were killed because they are part of the police officers who confronted the bunkers just because they know the terrain before deploying the naval officers."

“So, it gets to a point when the naval officers came because they have to go and stop the boys from vandalizing the pipes. After the cubing, they decided to come to our community and stay or make the place like a harbor to them. They are afraid to stay at the war front in the area and they resolve to stay in the community because they found comfort here.

"During election when I was on air, they came to the community to raid and vandalize everywhere. That was the governorship election in 2015.

“Up till now they blocked our roads and people could not work and they do not have jobs they do not allow our people to move freely and even to go to river and this stops all the domestic jobs and trade that our people really ventured into in back then are not been allowed to do it.

“When you talk, the naval officers will start attacking us even with the young guys that they do not have ammunition but, they have to succumb because they don’t have anything to fight back.

“There is one of their commanders that came to fight me in my office when I told him that how can the dredgers be allowed into the community without notifying the community members this or tell us what they are going to do to the community as a kind of social services to the community.

Read more at:

http://saharareporters.com/2019/07/06/revealed-gang-rape-confiscation-impunity-foisted-majidun-military-men​

Evidence of a failed state, the defence arm of government acts with impunity.

[quote author=Danielsureodd50 post=80101640][/quote] You had to quote me for this shit, is Everything Okay?