AGAIN, Lagos erupted in bloody violence yesterday as suspected rival street urchins, popularly called “Area Boys,” clashed over the control of Oshodi Market Motor Park.
At the end of the bloody encounter, about six persons were feared killed. Dangerous weapons, including knives and guns, were used freely during the fracas.
Many shops were looted as the hoodlums used the opportunity to break into boutiques and electronics shops and made away with items in them.
A businessman who spoke to The Guardian said: “I have just lost about N2.5 million worth of goods and cash estimated at about N800,000 kept inside my safe.”
Police sources told The Guardian that they were on the trail of one of the masterminds of the attack who mobilised area boys to unleash terror on the area.
However, the tension in the area came down when the Makinde Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mr. Joseph Olatunmokun, arrived the scene with a team of heavily armed policemen.
On sighting the DPO and his men, the hoodlums fled.
Meanwhile, the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Bashiru Azeez, has deployed mobile policemen to the scene to avert further clashes.