Bariga, Somolu under cult siege

Posted by admin | 10 years ago | 1,898 times



Residents of Bariga and Somolu in Lagos State are living in fear of threats from deadly cult activities in the area.  They can no longer sleep at night with two eyes closed as a result of constant fights by different factions of rival cult gangs.

Investigations revealed that the residents have received several threat letters from cult groups warning them to stay indoors or relocate from the areas as they were coming to spill blood. Efforts by the security operatives to curtail the nightmare have so far not yielded any fruits.

At the time of this report, some vandalised vehicles could still be seen on the streets, which were damaged by the gangs during their clashes. Owners of the damaged vehicles lamented that they could not afford the amount of money needed to make repairs on them.

It is to this end that the residents have made passionate appeals to Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola to come to their rescue over the activities of dreaded cultists who have become a source of nightmare in the area.

Some residents who spoke with our reporter said battles of supremacy amongst the groups were the major reasons for the clashes. Others attributed them to reprisal attacks, toll collection and political differences.

A resident of Salami Street who spoke under condition of anonymity said many of the cult boys were highly connected to top politicians in the state. This, they explained was a top reason why they easily secure their bail and release each time they were arrested.

“The reason why they usually fight is because of money, especially the ones given by politicians. Let me tell you for real, these politicians know all these factions and they make use of them especially during election periods. They arm them with guns and other dangerous weapons which they don't collect back from them when the elections are over" he said.

Another resident, Alfa Eyinfunjowo also alleged that many of the cultists were political thugs who were connected to the local government chairmen of Somolu and Bariga. He also indicted the policemen in Ilaje and Pedro of complicity in the atrocities of the gangs.

"The first culprits to me are the chairmen of Somolu and Bariga. They both belong to the same party and are jolly friends and I don't see reason why they can't collaborate to flush out these boys from their domain. But they can't do that because they know these boys very well. They do dirty jobs for them during elections so how can you deal with them"?

"I also blame the police. It is like the boys have completely overwhelmed them and they don't have a clue on how to deal with the situation. They always respond to our distress calls whenever we call them, but that is after an hour or two after the boys have caused monumental destruction and are gone.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of Bariga LCDA, Akeem Sulaimon popularly called Oris has denied the reports from residents that he made use of the cult boys, saying that majority of the boys had no electoral value because they were not registered voters.

Speaking in his defence, he said he has on occasions personally arrested some of the boys and locked them up. How they were released from detention, according to him, still remained a mystery.

"These boys in question, I have risked my life severally to try and address the situation. However, when these boys are locked up, they will be calling me from police cells using their numbers that are known and they will say that the police told them that I was the one responsible for their incarceration and they want me to do something about their release.

How do they have access to their phones? Virtually, all these boys they are talking about have been arrested at one time or the other and the police know their activities. So, who is responsible for their release? Was it me? Maybe those saying the boys are working for me are political adversaries who want to give a dog a bad name to hang it".

"Most of these boys have no political value because they don't have voters’ cards. They don't vote during elections, so of what political value are they to us? At a particular point in time, I tried to rein them in. and I called a meeting and addressed all of them. Even when you go to war, you still end up on the roundtable. At times, I even go out of my way to empower them and engage them in meaningful activities that will be beneficial to the society. But later on, it got to a stage that there is nothing I could do to control them. I don't carry a gun. So, if a man with a gun, a policeman cannot control them, is it me that will go and control such a person?  Even Nigerian soldiers are running away from Boko Haram".

"I have called several security meetings; I have threatened parents to warn their children. There was a time I locked up about 48 of them with some in prison for up to two years, somehow they still secured their bail and they return to the area to cause mayhem".

"So, who are the people assisting them in getting bail? Don't forget, that people don't know the history of Bariga. It was the same Bariga that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (as governor) came to inaugurate an health centre and the boys behaved so unruly that he left without conducting the inauguration. That was a very long time even before I became council chairman. It is also the same Bariga that a DPO was killed and up till now, his body has not been found. So, these issue of cult activities, are they things that began to happen when I became chairman or things that have already existed?" He asked.

Chairman of Somolu Local Government, Olorogun Gbolahan Bago- Stowe also defended himself, wondering if they would still be working for him since he was outside the country.

 


Source: Eberechi Obinagwam

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