RESIDENTS and business owners in the Abule Egba Joint Community Development Association, Abule Egba, in the Agbado Oke-Odo LCDA of Alimosho, Lagos have lamented the growing threats posed by hoodlums in the area.
According to PUNCH Metro, the hoodlums, who lurk around the community, have been attacking and robbing residents and businessmen on their way to work in the morning and while returning home at night.
Olajide Falowo, a resident in the community, affirmed that from 7 pm, movement in the community was no longer safe as the hoodlums have been operating at will.
“We are in distress. Moving from Abule-Egba to Ahmadiya to Ile Epo is no longer safe at night. Hoodlums now snatch phones and dispossess commuters and motorists of their belongings. I can tell you right now that once it is 7 pm, it is not safe to go out to the main road to withdraw money,” Falowo said.
Another resident, who pleaded anonymity, described a dump site around the Ile-Epo bus stop as a flashpoint for criminal activities in the area.
In his words; “That is another dangerous spot where you see fearful looking men who are usually located there. If you stay for a long time, they will attack you and once they snatch your belongings, they will jump into the dump site and escape.”
The Chairman of the CDA, Rotimi Olaide, on his part, said, “Once we lodge a complaint to the police, they will come around for one or two weeks and then they relax. We want the police authorities to monitor the activities of the officers being drafted to the area.”
Contacted, the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “Thank you for bringing this to my notice. I will inform the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, about it.”
In the same vein, the residents also complained about regular accidents along the Abule Egba-Kola corridor, affirming that the accidents were usually caused by motorists driving against traffic due to the bad road inward Sango-Ota.
Olaniyi, a resident in the area said, “We have lost a lot of people to the one-way menace. There is a man in my area whose leg was almost amputated if not for timely intervention. He was knocked down by a commercial bus driver. Another woman also got knocked down while coming from church. She died instantly.”
