Some hoodlums on Friday killed a 30-year-old
university graduate, Sodiq Shittu, at the Lawani Street in the Mushin area of
Lagos State.
Eyewitnesses told PUNCH Metro that the
victim’s skull was broken open with a hammer before one of the gang members
carried a big stone and crushed his head.
It was learnt that Shittu, whose wife was five
months pregnant, graduated from a university in Ogun State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident
was the third time in four months that hoodlums would kill a resident of the
street.
In March, a truck loader, identified as Gbenga,
was shot dead by some suspected cult members for reportedly supporting a
political party.
On May 19, our correspondent reported that a
tricycle driver, Debo Oturu, who was on a visit to his mother, was attacked and
shot dead.
Our correspondent was told that the latest
incident happened around 4pm on Friday.
When our correspondent visited the street on
Saturday, three gun-wielding policemen were seen patrolling the deserted
street.
When PUNCH Metro visited the family
house of the victim, his relatives shunned our correspondent.
They also did not allow him into the apartment,
saying reports on the spate of killings in the area had made no difference.
While at the door, a woman said, “It is barely 24
hours that he was killed and you are here; for what? We are in no mood to talk,
please go.”
Another lady wondered what the family would gain
from the publication.
She said, “In March, somebody was killed on the
street. Less than three weeks ago, they also murdered another person. And now,
they have killed him. What did the government do? Or are they waiting for them
to kill all the people in the area before they act?”
PUNCH Metro, however, gathered that
Shittu was the first of three children and his mother had died two years
earlier.
A source said, “He also has a wife, who is five
months pregnant.”
Many of the houses on Lawani Street were shut,
while commercial activities were grounded, with few residents peeping from
their homes.
A resident, who declined identification, told PUNCH
Metro that Shittu had bought a sachet of pure water from a vendor and had
gone out in company with two of his friends, Ibrahim and Owusu, when he was
attacked.
She said, “Sodiq (Shittu) was a gentle young man;
he did not make trouble with people. Around 4pm, he went out of the street with
two of his friends when they were attacked.
“Actually, there were two guys, who were
monitoring their movement. Immediately they came out, the two spies signalled
to their colleagues, who were in a commercial vehicle.
“They were many and they waylaid the three boys
on the road. Ibrahim ran and escaped. Owusu was stabbed, but he managed to run
inside the street. They, however, got Sodiq and pinned him down.
“One of them brought out a hammer and broke his
skull open. They also gouged out his eyes. Then, one of them brought a big
stone and dropped it on his head.”
Our correspondent gathered that the hoodlums
attempted to set Shittu’s remains on fire, but his friends and neighbours
chased them away.
Policemen from the Alakara Division were said to
have taken the corpse and deposited it in a mortuary in the Morocco, Somolu
area of the state.
Our correspondent saw blood marks on the spot his
corpse was laid after he was killed.
Investigations by PUNCH Metro showed
that the hoodlums came from Ereko Street, where a gang leader, identified as
Toba, had his domain.
They were said to be embroiled in a supremacy
clash with residents of Lawani Street over collection of some fees from traders
on the street.
The Lawani residents were said to have resisted
Toba’s attempts to dominate their area by taking fees from the traders.
Toba, who is facing murder charges together with
another notorious warlord, Muda Adigun, was reportedly released on bail by the
state high court.
Some residents, who were approached by our
correspondent, declined to speak with our correspondent for safety reasons.
They said the police and the government had been compromised.
A woman said, “All the kids here know the sounds
of gunshots. Our old women are getting hypertensive and nobody seems to care.”
Another resident said, “Fashola (a former
Governor of Lagos State) was here and nothing happened. These people have been
invited to Alausa (the state secretariat) for peace to reign, yet nothing
happened. For more than seven years, this place has been under siege and we are
helpless. You better run if you value your life. They can start again any
moment from now and we will not harbour you.”
Attempts by our correspondent on Sunday to reach
out to Toba and his alleged gang members failed, as their lines were
unreachable.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth
Nwosu, when contacted, said he would get back to our correspondent. He had yet
to do so.
Source:Punch
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