Yesterday, chaos erupted in the Omonile area of Abule-Ado community in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, as a gang of thugs attacked residents, injuring many and causing destruction of property. The attack led to the destruction of several shops and vehicles parked in the area as the thugs shattered the windscreens of cars parked on the long stretch of the road.
The attack was reportedly a fallout of the violence that characterised the governorship and state House of Assembly elections in the state on Saturday. According to a resident of the area who preferred anonymity, “During the election on Saturday, thugs invaded some polling units to snatch ballot boxes. They were chased by another group of thugs. Those who snatched the ballot boxes ran into some houses from where they escaped. The second group of thugs destroyed the houses where the ballot box snatchers ran into, in anger and frustration.”
The resident also revealed that on the morning of the attack, the residents of the community heard gunshots from the Omonile end of Abule-Ado as over 50 armed thugs invaded the area, shooting at anything in sight and destroying all the vehicles parked on the road. The thugs accused the residents of being perpetrators of the previous day’s attack and for daring to chase them when they snatched the ballot boxes. Some of the residents were injured in the process.
A video that went viral on social media showed the residents, both males and females, holding sticks and pestles to defend themselves. Furthermore, an audio clip of an unidentified man alerting Nigerians on the invasion of the community was sent within and outside Lagos. The voice in the audio clip, which was in Igbo dialect, frantically called on security agents to come to the aid of residents of the area.
Following the attack, teams of policemen and military personnel were reportedly deployed to the community to contain the situation. A spokesman for Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundenyi, said that two persons have been arrested and an investigation has commenced into the matter. He also added that normalcy had been restored, and police officers remained on the ground to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
Comments are closed.