Hoodlums kill teenager, damage 50 vehicles in Lagos

A 19-year-old boy, identified simply as
Emmanuel, was hacked to death on Monday night
in the Iwaya area of Lagos State after some
hoodlums raided at least six streets in the
community.
Emmanuel was the only son of his widowed
mother.
The hoodlums, who residents claimed were about
100 in number, also vandalised no fewer than 50
vehicles parked on the roads.
Some of the witnesses added that many residents
were injured, while others were dispossessed of
their valuables during the fracas which occurred
around 9.30pm.
Sources said the violence lasted for about three
hours, without any challenge from security
operatives, who began patrolling the troubled
spots around 2am.
When PUNCH Metro visited the area on Tuesday,
he observed blood stains on a spot on
Moshalashi Street, where Emmanuel was
reportedly killed.
Our correspondent counted six damaged cars on
Balogun Street, five on Akintola Street, three on
Moshalashi Street, two on Arowolo Street and one
each on Salami and Pedro streets. Many others
were said to have been taken away for repairs by
their owners.
Though the main reason for the attack could not
be ascertained, investigations by our
correspondent revealed that the gang came from
the Owode/Oju Ina part of the area.
They were said to be involved in a supremacy
clash with the Iwaya boys.
A resident, who craved anonymity, said, “Around
9.30pm, we were all seated outside and we saw a
crowd of boys entering into the street.
“They were wielding cutlasses, guns, bottles and
irons. People started running helter-skelter. They
attacked many people with cutlasses and used the
opportunity to rob some ladies who were passing
by. They were moving from street to street.”

One of the vandalised vehicles
Hoodlums kill teenager, damage 50 vehicles in
Lagos
DECEMBER 24, 2014 BY SAMSON FOLARIN
14 Comments
Some vandalised vehicles | credits: Samson
Folarin
A 19-year-old boy, identified simply as
Emmanuel, was hacked to death on Monday night
in the Iwaya area of Lagos State after some
hoodlums raided at least six streets in the
community.
Emmanuel was the only son of his widowed
mother.
The hoodlums, who residents claimed were about
100 in number, also vandalised no fewer than 50
vehicles parked on the roads.
Some of the witnesses added that many residents
were injured, while others were dispossessed of
their valuables during the fracas which occurred
around 9.30pm.
Sources said the violence lasted for about three
hours, without any challenge from security
operatives, who began patrolling the troubled
spots around 2am.
When PUNCH Metro visited the area on Tuesday,
he observed blood stains on a spot on
Moshalashi Street, where Emmanuel was
reportedly killed.
Our correspondent counted six damaged cars on
Balogun Street, five on Akintola Street, three on
Moshalashi Street, two on Arowolo Street and one
each on Salami and Pedro streets. Many others
were said to have been taken away for repairs by
their owners.
Though the main reason for the attack could not
be ascertained, investigations by our
correspondent revealed that the gang came from
the Owode/Oju Ina part of the area.
They were said to be involved in a supremacy
clash with the Iwaya boys.
A resident, who craved anonymity, said, “Around
9.30pm, we were all seated outside and we saw a
crowd of boys entering into the street.
“They were wielding cutlasses, guns, bottles and
irons. People started running helter-skelter. They
attacked many people with cutlasses and used the
opportunity to rob some ladies who were passing
by. They were moving from street to street.”
Another witness said the victim,Emmanuel, who
was an apprentice in a vulcaniser’s workshop,
came out with a trolley loaded with bottles.
Some boys in the area were said to be hauling
the bottles in the trolley at the gang in a bid to
repress the aggression.
He said, “They shot Imole (Emmanuel) in the leg
and he could no longer run. That was when some
of the gang members swooped on him and started
hitting him with iron and cutting him with
cutlasses. They left him for dead.”
It was gathered that the deceased was supposed
to have his graduation on Saturday, this week,
when he was killed.
Although the scene of the incident was only a few
kilometers to the Iwaya Police Post, it was learnt
that policemen from the Sabo Division were the
ones that came to evacuate the corpse.
A resident, Ayoola Efunkoya, told PUNCH Metro
that his Toyota Camry was among many of the
vandalised vehicles.
“I learnt they were all teenagers. They broke the
two windscreens and side mirrors of my car. They
ransacked the car to see if there was anything
they could steal, but they only found cassettes
which they took,” he added.
A trader, Lasisi Bodurin, said he was in his room
when he heard a noise.
He said, “The boys were chasing people with
weapons. When they got to Balogun Street, I
overheard them saying, ‘let us finish them off
here’. They damaged two of my vehicles and
fled.”
A pastor, Ayeniran Durotola, whose car was also
damaged, appealed to the government to intervene
before the crisis escalated.
Durotola said he counted over 100 hoodlums,
who moved in and out of his street two times,
while he and his family shook in fright.
Our correspondent gathered that some youths in
the area had promise a reprisal during the week.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State
Command, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the
incident.
He said, “A teenager was killed in the early hours
of the morning. He was killed during a fight
involving two rival factions. The police were
alerted to the disturbance in that neighbourhood.
But by the time our men arrived at the scene, the
hoodlums had absconded from the area and the
young man was met in a pool of blood.
“His corpse has been evacuated to a public
morgue. The area is now under intensive patrol
and the community is now calm. Efforts are being
made to apprehend the perpetrators of the crime.”