Magboro-Akeran Community Threatens To Apply Jungle Justice Over High of Crime

 CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

Residents of Magboro-Akeran area of Ogun State have decried the high rate of crime and threatened to apply jungle justice to protect themselves if the security agencies fail to do so.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that they blamed the police for ineptitude and lack of commitment to solving the increasing rate of robbery, cultism and other criminal activities in the area. They equally alleged that the police benefitted from the activities of hoodlums and street urchins in the community and that was why the security in the area was compromised.
One of the residents who pleaded anonymity said, “Magboro-Akeran town has been a peaceful abode to all and sundry since time immemorial, but the movement of residents from the Lagos to nearby Ogun State has turned the once sleeping community into a busy town of some sort. The rapid growth in population and the total change in land use within this community since the early year 2000 have been very drastic. The once quiet town of Magboro-Akeran  has   since   become   a  very   active environment,  accommodating   people   from  different ethnic groups in Nigeria, with various commercial activities, religious centres of worship and schools”.

“Moving through the town from the Sawmill area (Magboro 1), to Divine Rise area (Magboro 2) and the Pipeline end area, one can see that there are very little or almost no virgin properties or even unoccupied plots. Indeed Magboro-Akeran is a very lively and prosperous town. In recent years, it has been noticed from various happenings and occurrences that the once serene environment was no longer as secured as it used to be. The communities within the town had been experiencing various activities of cultism, burglary, robbery and other criminal activities. In fact the little or no presence of law enforcement agencies like the police and their nonchalant attitude to cases reported at their station at Ibafo had become a serious concern for residents of Magboro-Akeran town, and many of the residents have resolved to keep off informing the police of subsequent robbery occurrences as there had been no proper follow up on reported cases” he said.

The residents said that it was therefore important that the Ogun State Police Command look into the situation to avoid a state of anarchy and jungle justice that may ensue from the present situation.

It was also gathered from reliable sources within the various community development associations that for about two years now, that the residents of   Magboro-Akeran town had continued to live in perpetual fear.

“People can no longer travel to their various places of work in Lagos especially on Tuesday and Thursday mornings without the fear that their homes might have been bugled before they got back” one of the community leaders said.

Residents, who lived around Abule of Magboro 1 and 2, said that they used to witness diverse cult operations and initiations especially on Sundays. There were also several illicit drinking and hub centers where scary looking men came to smoke marijuana and hung out all through the day around Ojuolape, Sawmill, Omoolope, Olojo, Giwa junction,Baba Elewedu Road and environs.
They lamented that the situation had become worrisome and reports had been taken to Ibafo Police Station but that no satisfactory response has been achieved, instead the activities of hoodlums had continued to increase.
Investigation into the reason the situation had remained unabated revealed that the hoodlums usually came back boasting that they were well connected at the police stations in the area and their activities cannot be checkmated by anyone. The declaration by the street urchins therefore kept most residents in fear and they lost faith in the police.

A resident hinted that people were beginning to fear that the situation may transform into the Ikorodu ‘Badoo’ episode if not checked at this point.
The residents are therefore appealing to the office of the Inspector General of Police and the Ogun State Police Command, to as a matter of urgency arrest the state of criminal activities at Magboro/Akeran town, before the highly embittered residents begin to dish out their own form of justice as it appeared that jungle justice was looming and innocent people may be victims.

Attempts to speak to Ogun State Police boss, Ahmed Iliyasu, were not successful as his phone was switched off.