The alleged Badoo member
Samuel Awoyinfa, Samson Folarin and Afeez Hanafi
Jungle justice on suspected members of Badoo continued on Wednesday at Ebute, Ipakodo, Ikorodu, Lagos, when a yet-to-be identified man was set ablaze by residents.
This is just as the state police command
says it has screened over 100 arrested suspected members of the gang
and arraigned those found culpable before the Lagos State Mobile Court.
Also, residents of Magbo, Ogijo, in the
Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, set ablaze a middle-aged man
suspected to be a member of Badoo.
The Ebute residents were keeping vigil in the community when they accosted
the man around 2am at Police Post bus stop, some distance away from the
Ipakodo Police Division.
They reportedly noticed that oil was rubbed over his body and concluded that he was a member of Badoo, descending heavily on him.
It was gathered that a senior police officer, who rushed to the scene, tried in vain to stop the mob from lynching the suspect.
They reportedly put tyres on him and set him ablaze.
A resident, who identified himself
simply as Olaniyi, said he was going to the office around 8am when he
saw the remains of the victim.
He said, “I saw the deceased in the middle of a bonfire.
“The scene was not far from the Ipakodo Police Station. It was a gory sight.
“The police and the government should
talk to residents to stop jungle justice. I know people are angry
because of the havoc this gang had wreaked on many families. People are
taking the law into their own hands because they don’t have confidence
in the police anymore.”
Another resident of the community, Abiodun Hay’Cube Odunuga, who posted about the incident on a Facebook forum, Ikorodu Ambassadors Group, said the suspect confessed that he had two accomplices.
He wrote, “Another suspected Badoo
gang was caught in my area, Ebute Ipakodo, Police Post bus stop
precisely. He was caught at 2am today (Wednesday) by the people of the
area as nobody goes to sleep again.
“He said they were three in number and
they had been in town since afternoon, watching where to strike. There
was oil all over his body. The angry mob didn’t listen to anything again
as they have seen enough evidence to burn the suspect to death.”
While discouraging lynching, the police
spokesperson in Lagos, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said some of the
suspects arrested during raids on communities in Ikorodu had been
screened.
He said those who were found innocent
had been released, while others suspected to be members of the gang had
been arraigned, adding that 53 accused were remanded in the Kirikiri
Prison.
He said, “The suspects have been
screened. I don’t have the actual figure now, but about 80 suspects were
arraigned before the mobile court. Fifty three of them were remanded in
the Kirikiri Prison.
“We have increased police visibility and
we are practically going from one community to another, identifying
with stakeholders. We are not concentrating on Ikorodu alone.
“The security measures being deployed in Ikorodu are being extended to other parts of the state.”
Meanwhile, the National Leader of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress, Gani Adams, has said members of the Badoo cult are being sponsored by influential people in Lagos State.
Adams, who accused the state government
of playing politics with the lives of residents, said members of the
cult were usually lured through job opportunities after which they were
recruited into the gang.
The OPC leader said his group refrained
from intervening in the matter despite having information about the
activities of the men because it didn’t have the permission of the
government.
He said, “For about two and half years, our coordinators in Ijede have been giving us a lot of information about Badoo. We realised that some highly-placed personalities were involved.
He said, “They use vacancy adverts, among others, to lure would-be Badoo
members and they put up some (telephone) numbers. When you call the
numbers, they will call you to come to their office and they will give
you money for empowerment, like N250,000.
“From what we have gathered, they
normally buy the (bloodstained) handkerchiefs for N500,000, N1m or
N1.5m. A common man cannot afford that money. It is being organised by
some prominent people.
“The Lagos State Government plays
partisan politics with the lives and property of people whereas the
first duty of government, whether federal, state or local, is to make
sure the lives of the citizenry are protected.”
In a related development, an irate mob
on Wednesday at Magbo, Ogijo, in the Sagamu Local Government Area of
Ogun State, set ablaze a middle-aged man suspected to be a member of Badoo.
The suspect was allegedly accused of being in possession of the severed head of an infant.
The state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, whose convoy was heading for Ogijo on surveillance, ran into the mob.
On sighting the police, the mob fled.
Policemen on the CP’s convoy immediately disembarked from their vehicles and took away the remains of the suspected cult member.
The state police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, had yet to react to the incident.
Comments
Post a Comment