A popular saying has it that where two elephants fight, the grass suffers. This aptly describes the present state of Imowo-nla community in Ikorodu area of Lagos State where the land owners popularly called Omo-Oniles have taken the law into their hands, threatening the peace of this ancient community in the process.
It started as a seemingly harmless quarrel in the Ifegunwa family, but this later took an ugly turn when dangerous weapons were freely employed in the fight that broke out among rival factions. Eventually one of the factions prevailed over the other in the process of which some innocent lives were lost.
The bloody crisis has prompted many to flee the community, with some residents alleging that one of the factions has the backing of some police men deployed to keep the peace there. When Vanguard Metro, VM, visited Imowo-nla, the few residents in the town could not hide their anger as they accused the Police of taking sides in the quarrel.
They told this reporter that some hoodlums were arrested with dangerous weapons about two years ago, but that the matter was swept under the carpet to favour one of the factions. According to them, the culprits were not prosecuted and are still walking freely in the town.
They also informed that rather than be intimidated by the heavy presence of law enforcement agents, the hoodlums have become sufficiently emboldened to employ new tactics in their nefarious activities. The development has also been linked to the gruesome murder of two policemen in May 2013 and seizure of four rifles from the cops. The killing of the cops prompted the Nigeria Police Force to swing into action to fish out the culprits. Some suspects were said to have been arrested in connection with this.
Worse still, the royal father of a neighbouring community, the Obateru of Egbin royal kingdom Adeoriyomi Oyebo Akeem, was alleged to have masterminded the recent crises in the community, a reason for which he was remanded in prison.
When VM visited Imowo-nla on two separate occasions, there were conflicting accounts over the arrest of the royal father, although two indigenes of the land (names withheld) confessed that they witnessed the May 21 crises where the hoodlums were led by the royal father.
Some of the victims of the attack want the culprits of the dastardly acts to be brought to book. An octogenarian, the Alagbolire of Ikorodu, Madam Adunni Tijani, said the incident has taken a serious toll on residents. "This community used to be a beehive of activities, but this is no longer the case as many residents are now in exile," she said.
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