Metro
Many Injured As Thugs From Benin Republic Attack Lagos Residents
Many people were injured and property worth millions of naira destroyed when armed thugs from the Republic of Benin attacked residents of Finager area of Satellite town, Lagos.
Lagos State police public relations officer, DSP Bala Elkana, said, 40 suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, Daily Sun reports.
Those who were injured included truck drivers, shop owners, and passersby. Many shops were also looted and trucks torched.
The incident, which paralysed vehicular and commercial activities in the heavily populated area led to the temporary closure of banks and other business centres while residents of the area scampered to adjoining Festac town, and Mile 2 areas for safety.
It was gathered that trouble started in the wee hours of Tuesday when the armed thugs said to have been invited from Benin Republic by a suspected bad gang ar Oguntade village in Old Ojo road, Satellite town, invaded shops and residential areas demanding for money from people.
A witness narrated that the thugs who were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons were shooting sporadically to scare their targets, mostly truck drivers. It was gathered that hoodlums succeeded in breaking into homes ,and shops and carted away valuables after which they subjected their victims to thorough beating. It was gathered that some people who resisted the hoodlums were shot while others were seriously injured .
The thugs who were masked also made borne fire with used tyres on the road as they attacked truck drivers who refused to be extorted .
A victim, Ibrahim Muhammed, told newsmen that the hoodlums attacked drivers at night where they parked their vehicles.
According to Mohammed,their attackers are members of a notorious gang that have been unleashing mayhem in Finager , Abule-Ado, and Mile2 areas for long period time.
“They clashed with us ( truck drivers), as we were carrying out our legitimate duties last week and wounded many of us. Some of our members were also killed during the clash when we resisted their attempt to forcefully extort money from us. They have been doing this for a long time and all efforts to make the police help us have failed. Their major targets are members of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPPENG, and they have made life very difficult for us”.
“We have lost millions of naira and many trucks each time they struck. They are laws unto themselves and they boast openly that nobody including the police and Army can stop them from extorting, looting, maiming and killing people in the area. They attack people with all kinds of dangerous weapons including stones which they carry in wheel barrows and bottles,” he stated.
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