By Abdulwahab Abdulah, Ifeanyi Okolie and Victor Akpa-Fresh

Fear has gripped residents of Fadeyi area of Lagos State and its environs following the lingering spate of unrest going on between factions of members of National Union of Road Transport Worker, NURTW, fighting over supremacy. As at last Monday, no fewer than three lives have been lost while properties worth millions of naira were either damaged or stolen by members of the warring parties. Worse still, the fracas has turned |Fadeyi section of the ever-busy Ikorodu road into war zone as motorists and passers-bye dread passing through the area for fear of being attacked. The situation has also led to massive looting and harassment of residents of the area. Motorists and pedestrians that passed through the road that penultimate Monday will not forget their plight in a hurry.

As soon as the fracas started, the warring parties besieged the expressway armed with dangerous weapons including guns. There was pandemonium as people ran in different directions for safety while life bullets were flying in different directions. Hoodlums capitalized on the situation to loot shops and other valuables at sight. Movement at Ikorodu expressway came to a standstill as motorists abandoned their vehicles and took to their heels. In fact, the presence of battle-ready policemen did little to deter the warring factions from unleashing mayhem.

A trader along Fadeyi axis of Ikorodu road told Crime Alert that the crisis had been a lingering one with law enforcement agents looking helpless over the dastardly situation. According to the trader who simply identified himself as Rafiu, “It has been a daily occurrence with area boys and cultists fighting for supremacy to the detriment of innocent people going about their businesses. That is why we are saying that our police is incompetent. If not, how come that some group of hoodlums or cultists have been allowed to hold sway in such a strategic area of Lagos for so long?. The perpetrators of this mayhem are well known to the police. They strike and go back only to launch another attack and each time they strike, policemen will belatedly arrive the scene after they had wrecked havoc and disappeared. Then, innocent passers-bye would be turned into victims as the policemen will start carrying out indiscriminate arrests while the major culprits were allowed to go scot-free. I think the Police in Lagos as presently constituted, needs surgical operation because, in the past, before you say jack Robinson, both the police and army personnel, operation Messa, will besiege the area and normalcy would be returned”.

Passersby fleeing the scene of mayhem at Fadeyi Bus-stop and Policemen at the scene of the crisis.

However, another trader in the area who refused to disclose his name for fear of being attacked told Crime Alert that the fracas at Fadeyi is an offshoot of the lingering fight for supremacy between factions of members of the National Union of Road Transport Worker(NURTW) which started at Mushin area of the state. “The crisis has been there for long and all the dramatis personea are well known to the Police. They have succeeded ibn making Mushin and its environs a no go are. It is their nefarious activities that spilled over to Fadeyi though, the participants at Fadeyi are mostly criminals masquerading as cultists to wreck havoc in the area. I will strongly suggest that the Police should carry out thorough investigation into the root cause of this unrest which has made life unbearable to residents of the area. In doing this, parents to these identified criminals should also be held accountable for the unruly behaviors of their wards. From what has been happening so far in these areas, it is obvious that we no longer have police detectives who can nip such things in the bud” Another resident of the area, Muyiwa Kayode, lamented how the miscreants have been carrying out their onslaught with impunity; “it all started about four weeks ago when a group of area boys popularly called Agbero who came to collect tolls around this area started fighting over supremacy and other yet- to- be ascertained reasons, at Alakara in Mushin local government area of the state. The fighting gradually spilled over to this part of the state and dangerous weapons like guns and cutlasses were freely used while helpless traders like us had no other option than fleeing the scene. Some motorists that ran into it had their windscreen shattered. For close to three hours, the road was barricaded by this hoodlums. I wonder how long government would have to harbor this indiscipline.

We now live in fear as we do not know when the fight will break out again and our businesses are now being threatened because these hoodlums can choose to start destroying properties at any given time”.

Sources at the Onipanu Police Station, told Crime Alert that the fight started from Alakere area in Mushin and then spilled over to Fadeyi , but for the timely intervention of policemen from the division, the matter would have been worse.

He said the fight, which has been ongoing for some time took a different dimension on Friday when the factions clashed and pressure became high adding that this prompted the policemen to spend 48 hours at the scene in order to ensure that law and order was maintained in the area.

The source further assured that the police at the division will do everything in its power to ensure that peace reigns in the area for a very long time stressing that the long arm of the law will surely catch up with anyone who tried to make trouble or cause any form of tension. Presently, the Fadeyi axis of the Ikorodu has continued to look like a shadow of itself following fears that the hoodlums might strike anytime. Even fast food joints along the area have continued to advise customers to remain inside warning also that the safety of their cars cannot be guaranteed at the packing slots.

A look on the faces of those who live, work or trade around Fadeyi area will quickly send a message that there is tension in the air as nobody knows when the next clash between the two factions will occur. The presence of some of the area boys from Fadeyi area was also noticeable around the corners of the streets.

Meanwhile, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers have disassociated themselves from the fracas at Fadeyi area attributing it to activities of cultists. This is just as two bigwigs of the Lagos State council of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, including the state chairman, Olorunwa Akanmu Rafiu and treasurer, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka, MC. Oluomo, were not able to perfect their bail Tuesday after they were arraigned before an Ikeja Chief Magistrate court for offences bordering on breach of public peace and riotous conduct.

The duo of Rafiu and Akinsanya were arraigned before Magistrate A. Olatokun on 12-count charge of conspiracy, unlawful assembly, going armed and conduct likely to breach public peace alongside 10 others amid tight security provided by anti riot policemen.

However, all efforts made by the accused persons to secure their bail failed and they were moved to Kirikiri maximum prison, where they were kept for them to perfect their bail.

Others arraigned with Rafiu and Akinsanya were Sunday Ojomo, Korede Owolabi, Babatunde Akeem, Ayo Akintayo, Lanre Salau, Akinola Falore, Bolaji Ibrahim, Kazeem Gomina and Afis Sule.

They were charged for allegedly breaching public peace and riotous conduct contrary to Section 517 of the Criminal Code Cap C 17, Vol. 2, Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2003, the offences which were said to be committed on May 6, 2011.

After oral application for bail by their counsels, Magistrate A. Olatokun granted them bail in the sum of N500,000 with 2 sureties with traceable addresses in Lagos State while further hearing in the matter has been adjourned till June 29, 2011.

The police from SARS, who conducted investigation on the offences preferred against them and brought the accused persons to court almost found it difficult to arraign them because of the mammoth crowd of their supporters who besieged the court premises to show their solidarity. This has also raised concern on security issue while the case will last in court.