No fewer than fifteen persons were on Thursday evening declared missing as heavily armed Policemen and suspected thugs invaded Ijegun Egba community in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government area of Lagos State.
However, the image maker in charge of the State Police Command , SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said that he was not aware of any operation in the town.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the residents of the community, who spoke over the incident, said that the Policemen shot sporadically and even threatened to kill them.
Those who were declared missing after the invasion were identified as Femi Dosu (Youth leader), Hammed Akinwunmi, Alamin Akodu, Samuel, Kola, Rasheed Sikiru, Saliu Ayinde, Musbau Timetope Adewara, Fatai, Lawal Moliki, Adeshina Sunday, Oluwaseun Aara, Seyi Adebayo and Wasui ijoba.
While others were reportedly taken away by the armed men in Police uniform, Wasiu Ijoba was reportedly injured and while escaping from the attack, he was reportedly abducted and taken away to Ibasa by the armed youths.
One of the youths in the town, Qazeem said, “It was late on Thursday evening when we started hearing heavy gunshots and suddenly, we saw armed people that we suspected to be Policemen”.
“They were not putting on Police uniform but one or two of them put on jackets with Police inscriptions and they were all heavily armed. They just came into our community and started shooting.”
The other residents however said, “We don’t know where they took them to, but one of them was taken away by thugs from the other side of the river in Ibasa”.
“When the Policemen were shooting and attacking our people, one of them was seriously injured and he managed to escape from the Policemen but some thugs, who came with them, abducted and took him to the other side of the river in Ibasa.”
One of the leaders in the town, Prince Raji Haruna, however, raised the alarm that the invasion might be an attempt to silence the people of Ijegun Egba.
He said, “For some time, we have been clamouring to have our own monarch. We are different from Ibasa. We are Ijegun Egba. We want to have our own monarch”.
“Just about two weeks ago, the people of Ibasa raised a false alarm that cultists were terrorizing Ijegun Egba. The Police investigated and found that to be untrue.”
The community leader further stated, “Since yesterday, we have gone to all the Police stations around here and no report was made in any of them by the Policemen who attacked us.”
He called on the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2 and AIG Muhammed Alli and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Lagos, CP Adegoke Fayoade, to investigate the attack on the community.
“The AIG in Zone 2 and the Commissioner of Police in Lagos Stste should investigate this attack. We are law abiding in Ijegun Egba. They should not allow strangers to take over our community” the community leader said.