Thugs kill okada rider, flee with his hand

Some cultists believed to be loyal to a political party invaded Adifase Street, Bariga, Lagos and hacked a motorcyclist, Segun Atupa, to death.

Not done, the hoodlums severed the 28-year-old victim’s hand and fled with it.

The murder came less than two weeks after political thugs killed two youths and beheaded one of them in the Fadeyi area of the state.

Residents told PUNCH Metro that the thugs had returned from a rally before carrying out the attack.

Our correspondent learnt that Atupa was attacked in the area around 8pm on October 24.

He was said to have been ambushed and hacked with machetes repeatedly by the hoodlums while going about his evening business.

Our correspondent also learnt that the hoodlums dumped Atupa’s body beside a canal on the street as they left.

It was also learnt that the deceased, who lived on Olusoji Street, Bariga, was attacked because the hoodlums claimed that he was working as an informant for rival political gangs in the area.

When PUNCH Metro visited Adifase Street on Tuesday, it was learnt that Atupa’s corpse had been removed from the canal by policemen attached to the Bariga Division, Somolu.

A resident who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal said the hoodlums pursued Atupa into the area and killed him.

He said, “On Friday at about 8pm, we were all outside enjoying the evening until we began to hear noises. That is not strange in this area. But we also heard gunshots, and you could feel that some people were running towards our street.

“Everyone was afraid and quickly rushed inside, bolting their doors. From inside my house, I was hearing deep voices of ‘pursue him and kill him’, ‘pursue him and kill him’. But no one could come out to check who it was. When it was morning, we saw the corpse of a man already killed and dumped in the canal.”

Our correspondent learnt from a police source that the motorcyclist was not only killed, but one of his arms was also amputated, and taken away by the hoodlums, an act synonymous with a local gang known as the EFCC boys.

When PUNCH Metro got to Atupa’s rented apartment on Olusoji Street, it was learnt from a neighbour that the motorcyclist’s wife had died from an accident, only about two weeks ago, and he was still grieving her death.

It was further gathered that apart from the motorcyclist, another man was attacked and killed the followiong day by Bajulaiye canal, Bariga Road. The yet-to-be-identified victim was said to have been removed also by policemen from the Bariga Division.

Another resident, Mr. Jamiu Oluyomi, said attacks on innocent lives in the area by thugs working for political parties had become commonplace, urging the police to intensify security in the Bariga and Somolu areas of the state.

He said, “These thugs are not ghosts. We know them, the police know them too. They use aliases such as Eyin Bouncing, Ologun, Sean Paul, and Tolu T-boy.”

PUNCH Metro learnt from residents that other hoodlums in the area use the following aliases: Yusuf Omo West, Lateef Fibre, Ogun owo, Rasaki Osanle, and BJ Paul.

When contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said he would get back to our correspondent. He, however, had yet to do so as of press time.

Source: Punch