PANIC IN LAGOS COMMUNITY AS HAUSA, YORUBA YOUTHS CLASH
Residents of the Igboolomu area of Ikorodu are living in fear following an ongoing ethnic clash that has led to several youths injured and the destruction of up to 15 shops.
Sources say an ongoing rift between a group of Yoruba and Hausa youths in the area escalated on Thursday, October 8 when some Hausa boys attacked two unsuspecting Yoruba boys, afflicting various degrees of machete cuts on them on Ola Imam Street, Igboolomu.
Retaliatory attacks soon followed leading to a pandemonium, sources told newsmen. Business activities have been suspended in the area and residents have fled the community for fear of reprisal attacks.
Read Also: #ENDSARS: IGP CONDEMNS ATTACK ON POLICEMEN, OTHER ASSETS IN DELTA
However, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the incident, said the incident should not be seen as a case of ethnic violence as “it was a minor conflict between the two groups”.
He added that the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has intervened in the matter and has called the leaders of both sides for an amicable settlement.
“Ethnic colouration should not be attached to it; it was just a minor issue and the young men involved were mostly motorcyclists. But we are on top of the situation and normalcy has been restored in the community,” the police spokesperson said.
Eons Intelligence gathered that the clash started on Monday, between a Hausa commercial motorcyclist and a Yoruba passenger who refused to pay his fare.
The disagreement nearly degenerated into a group fight but the heads of the community intervened and stopped the situation from escalating.
Ethnic fights seldom occur in Lagos, in August 2019, two persons were killed and several others injured when Yoruba and Hausa traders clashed at the Ilepo Market.
According to reports, a fight ensued between a Hausa porter and a Yoruba man. The fight was hijacked by hoodlums from both ethnic groups in the area.
Read Also: FG TO TOTALLY CLOSE SECTION OF THIRD MAINLAND BRIDGE
Comments