There seems to be no end in sight to the continuous violence and show of power and supremacy between rival gangs in Mushin and Somolu local governments. Since 2003, when the clashes began, many lives and properties have been lost to the conflicts. As the 2011 elections draw nearer, the residents of the areas are already experiencing the latest wave of violence by the armed youth.
It was gathered that the same members of the gangs, who were sometime ago absorbed into the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), have been behind the unleashing of terror to the residents for the past seven years.
According to a source who pleaded anonymity, politicians who used the gangs to ascend to political power have to look for a way of “settling” them.“After the 2003 election, the hoodlums were asked not to cause problems or give the government a bad image. You gave them guns, so after the election, what do you want them to do?” the source said, adding “They were asked to go and join the union (NURTW) and were made branch and unit chairmen across the state.” The source said that one of the causes of the recent clashes could be traced to 2006 when a battle for supremacy started between rival gangs in the area, who claimed to be members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC).“They claimed to belong to the (Frederick) Fasehun faction of the OPC but in actual fact, they belonged to the Eiye Confraternity,” said the source.
“They invaded the Mushin side and shot one Razak (also known as Aro) and beheaded him and took the head away. Till date, there is no sign of the head,” said the source who alleged that one Femi Alonge (also known as J’Pron) was the leader of the onslaught.
“J’Pron (Mr. Alonge) was a foot soldier for Tinubu during the 2003 election and as a result, he was given police protection as well as government backing,” the source added.
Clash of ‘cults’
In a letter addressed to the Lagos State Police Command by the Somolu Community Development Association, the residents blamed the series of unrests in the area on the fracas between rivals cults of the Black Axe of Bariga and the Eiye Confraternity of Somolu which had led to the death of a member of the former, identified as Femi (also known as Wiper).
“Since the ugly incident occurred, innocent and peace-loving people of Somolu have been sporadically attacked and gravely brutalised by the suspected members of the late leader,” read the letter which was dated April 20, 2009.
“Right now, about 15 people are being hospitalised as a result of attacks and molestation by the deceased’s group.” In April 2009, Mr Femi was killed during a fracas with the rival Eiye group after a football match in Somolu. It was gathered that one Ibrahim Balogun (known as Small J’Pron) was accused of masterminding the killing of the victim and was, consequently, arrested by police officers from the C.M.S Police Station, Bariga, and later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, where he was charged to court.
The source said that Mr Balogun was implicated in the killing by his mentor, Mr Alonge, so as to curry the favour of the boys from Ilaje, Bariga, where he hoped to extend his domination. However, the court granted Mr Balogun bail after nine months.
“The goons in Fadeyi and Ilaje, Bariga, did not envisage that Ibrahim (Mr Balogun) would be released on bail at so they were surprised when he was cited at Somolu, hence, the manhunt to kill him started.” “The group from Ilaje and the J’Pron-led group from Fadeyi attacked the Akoka end of Bajulaiye market with the sole aim of killing or kidnapping Ibrahim (Mr Balogun) whom they always see at the market place in the midst of other Somolu youths.” The timely intervention of police officers from the Alade Police station led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), James Chu, warded off the hoodlums’ onslaught.
“When they knew they could not penetrate through the Bajulaiye end, they retreated and went through the Igboigunu Adesina end of Somolu, but the DPO had already put in place another detachment of police,” said the source.
In another letter written to the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Abuja, by the residents, were listed names of people who should be called to order by relevant authorities. Some of the names include: Femi Alonge, from Fadeyi; Ibrahim Adeyeye (known as Fadaka); Oriyomi Olubode (known as Ultimate); Segun Opere (known as Shaggy), from Ilaje, Bariga; Shola Idebi (known as Sola Iku), from Ilaje, Bariga; Abiodun Awotubo (known as Abbey); Lateef Abiodun (known as Arabambi), from Palmgrove; Ahmed Tapa (known as Medow); and a host of others.
Union politics
In 2007, some factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) allegedly led by Lateef Abiodun (known as Arabambi) invaded the Palmgrove Interstate Phase 1 unit to unseat the then sitting chairman, Mukaila Runsewe (known as Kada 1).
According to eye witnesses, the invaders were accompanied by thugs wielding guns, cutlasses, and other dangerous weapons with which they unleashed terror on members of the public.“They came with guns and were shooting directly at people; not even up,” said an eyewitness. Efforts to talk to Mr Runsewe were not successful as he said he would be unavailable due to the death of an in-law.
Abiodun Awotubo (known as Abbey), who was alleged to be part of the invading team, said that misunderstandings between members of a group in “any sphere of life” is to be expected.“We are a union and misunderstanding between individuals is normal,” said Mr Awotubo, the secretary of the Somolu branch of the NURTW.
He said that they had complained to Mr Runsewe about the accusations of embezzlement and mismanagement leveled against him but he (Mr Runsewe) blamed it on the former executive members.Why we did that was because at the end of the month, you’d expect something to come out,” he said. “That time, after four months, nothing came out and so we challenged him,in December last year (2010), the union officials wrote to alert security agencies in the state about a plan by the OPC members in the area to “wage war against the Somolu NURTW for an unknown reason”.
According to Mr Awotubo, who is also the chairman of the Fola-Agoro unit, the information was passed to them from an impeccable source.“The public, whenever anything happens, they will say that the transporters have started again,” he said.“The union of today is a union of responsible men and women, not of hooliganism and thuggery. So the moment we got the information, we alerted the security agencies so that they will work on it and confirm whether it is true or not.” But the OPC coordinator for Somolu, Balogun Arogundade, denied such claims saying that the union officials were hoping to use it as a diversion to cause crisis in the area.
“OPC is a socio-cultural organisation meant to revive the Yoruba cultural heritage as well as make Yoruba land a peaceful place,” said Mr Arogundade, also known as Saddam.“Our interest in Somolu is not different from the aim of the organisation nationwide. The OPC is not violent and will not be part of any violent activities,” he said.
The OPC angle
With many members of the NURTW also belonging to the OPC, clashes of interests has always been a question of time.
“We have some members of the OPC in our midst,” admitted Mr Awotubo.“NURTW is a registered member of the trade union and there is no way OPC can control it. We are parallel bodies. Whenever any of their members (OPC) goes against the constitution of the union and is being punished, they will expect us to come and tell them what he did which is not possible,” he said . “If they (OPC) feel that any of their member cannot abide by our law, such a member should leave the union.” On the allegation of members belonging to cult groups, both the OPC and the NURTW dissociated themselves from such.
“We are running a union here and I have never seen any member come and say he belongs to any cult,” said the union boss. “There might be but I don’t know,” he added.
According to the OPC leadership, outright expulsion is meted out to any member discovered to belong to any secret confraternity.
“We don’t want any of our members into cultism. Any one we discover is expelled from the group,” said Mr Arogundade. “No member is a cultist; I can vouch for them,” he said.
The Mushin connection
The battle in Mushin, like in Somolu, is also about supremacy and relevance between two groups in the community, each headed by Taoreed Faronbi (also known as Baba Alado) and Joel Oloruntoba (known as Toba).
The shootings witnessed at the Fadeyi area over the past weeks were attributed to a gang from the Akala area of Mushin which was on the heels of Mr Oloruntoba,to snuff the life out of him.
A source in Mushin, who did not want to be named, said that the quest to “get” Mr Oloruntoba at all cost has divided Fadeyi into two zones – the Somolu end and the Mushin end.
“Toba has run to J’Pron (Mr Alonge) for support and protection,” said the source.“So what you are seeing there, is a shootout between the Mushin boys and J.Pron’s boys in Fadeyi,” he said.
An aide to Mr Oloruntoba confirmed the statement and accused Mr Faronbi as the architect of the recent spate of violence. “It is those Akala boys that are being used by (Baba) Alado,” said the aide.
He added that Mr Oloruntoba had gone to his house at the Idi-Oro area of Mushin for a change of clothes when the boys from Akala, apparently tipped off by informants, arrived and started shooting. “They said they have banished him (Toba) from Mushin but it’s not possible; my brother is a landlord in Mushin,” he said.
Two aides of Mr Oloruntoba were shot during last week’s shootouts – one died instantly while the other is currently receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.“During the process of pursuing him and his boys, it spilled into Fadeyi,” said the aide who admitted that Mr Oloruntoba is a “very good friend” to Mr. Alonge.
When Mr Faronbi, a septuagenarian, was contacted on the phone, he hung up after the reporter introduced himself.
‘Government backing’
All the characters linked to the perennial clashes in Mushin and Somolu, who are also members of the NURTW, have the backing of politicians and top government officials in the state, according to the source.
Phone calls and text messages sent to Kayode Opeifa, the special adviser to the state governor on transportation, were neither responded to nor replied.
Residents within the Somolu enclave have also wondered why the council officials have remained mum over the spate of violence.
“It is like the local government has no leader,” said a resident who preferred not to be named. “The present chairman seems to be unconcerned about the present security situation in the vicinity,” he said.
But Gbolahon Bago-Stowe, the chairman of Somolu Local Government Area, said that the “occurrences” are beyond the local government.“We have made a complaint to the state and the commissioner of police that we cannot handle it,” said Mr Bago-Stowe, who added that he had purposely distanced himself from the activities of the NURTW within his domain to forestall any claim of using them for political gains.
Political groups
The existence of two political groups – Team Lagos and Face Lagos – was also cited as another factor in the ongoing violence.
It was gathered that the former plays an active role in the activities of the Action Congress of Nigeria.“They are the foot soldiers, used to propagate war against their unseen enemies,” revealed a source.
The source added that some members of the latter group broke out to form a parallel body after they were refused admission into the former.
When asked about his alleged membership of one of the groups, the Somolu OPC leader said that his loyalty lies only with the pan-Yoruba body.
“I don’t know anything about Team or Face Lagos,” said Mr Arogundade,I am the coordinator of OPC for Somolu local government,” he said.
Arresting the culprits
Following the series of clashes, police authorities say they have arrested 29 people in connection with the incident.
“The police did not arrest people indiscriminately but they only arrested those who fomented trouble in that environment,” said Samuel Jinadu, the deputy spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command.
“Police will continue to maintain peace and order in the area,” he said.“The youth that are fond of causing this problem should desist from doing so because the law will definitely take its course on whoever is found wanting in that regard. Those arrested will be prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others,” said Mr Jinadu, who also advised residents to go about their lawful businesses and duties without fear of molestation or harassment from any quarters.
A police officer admitted that the arrests may not be different from those of the past. “Those boys are very connected. Even after arresting them, they will still be released,” said the officer who requested anonymity.
While the face-offs between the groups lasted, residents, apart from being victims of stray bullets, also had their properties looted.
Richard Benson, a shop owner at Fadeyi, said that they are fed up with the never-ending shootings in the area.“When they start, we’d close our shops and run away and they’ll come and loot our shops,” said Mr Benson.“Even small boys that are holding guns will be using it to rob people and rape girls,” he said.
During the 2007 fracas between NURTW officials at Palmgrove, Emeka Amafonye of Amafo Standard Electronics, Palmgrove, said he lost over N2 million in the mayhem.“In fact, I don’t want to remember that incident; it is capable of wrecking someone,” said Mr Amafonye.
“After that incident, they kept inviting us – those whose properties were vandalised – to the station but nothing came out of it.“The government is not up to the task, there is no security here,” he said.