No fewer
than two youths were reportedly shot dead by some miscreants, popularly known
as ‘Area boys’ from Okepopo area on Lagos Island in different attacks against
their opponents.
Also, six
other persons who were shot but escaped death, were at different hospitals on
the Island after the attack by Okepopo boys, who invaded some streets, looking
for their opponents.
Residents
and traders on the Island were said to be living in fear as the notorious boys
were said to always attack unexpectedly, looting goods and shooting
sporadically at people seen around or believed to be trying to obstruct them.
The dead
victims include one Small Shakiru, shot at Agarawu area on Monday night and another
youth whose name was not known as at the time of this report. He was stabbed in
the left eye while returning to his house at Onola area at the weekend.
Others with
gun wound include a ‘Keke Marwa’ driver, Saheed Obiripo. who was shot at
Haffiner; an Igbo trader at Andrew Street. who refused to release his bag to
the boys; a woman returning from her shop on Saturday evening, another trader
and two other youths, Sunday and Tandor, who were believed to be harbouring
some of Okepopo boys’ opponents.
According to
a source, one of the Okepopo boys attended a social gathering at Luther area on
the Island some weeks back and was stabbed in the neck by another youth from
Onola area, which prompted the Okepopo boys to threaten a reprisal attack.
The source said:
“Some days later, the Okepopo boys started attacking Onola boys but suffered
serious casualties because they met stiff opposition. As a result, they
re-planned their strategy and started attacking people with locally-made guns
and used the opportunity to rob.
“The
notorious boys now operate at Evans, Massey, Palm-church, Swamp, Apogbe,
Olushi, Agarawu, Tom-Jones, Wahab Folawiyo, Nnamdi Azikwe, Alli, Haffner,
Onikepo, Obadina, Onola and Aroloya Streets”, he added.
While
fielding questions from crime reporters at the police officers’ mess, Ikeja
during a media conference, the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the
reported incident that many traders were not opening their shops for fear of
incessant attack was an exaggeration, adding that the menace of the notorious
youths on the Island “is not anything that is unusual”.
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