OPC explains clash in Ajegunle
Adey Oyenuga
OPC explains clash in Ajegunle
SELF-HELP efforts to check the menace of armed robbery in
Ajegunle triggered the chain reaction leading up to last
weekend's ethnic conflict, according to the Oodua People's
Congress (OPC).
The group in a statement yesterday traced the mayhem to the
apprehension of some bandits by a vigilance group and members
of the OPC, followed by reprisal attacks from the suspects'
kith.
Signed by its national secretary and Lagos State chairman,
Messrs Kayode Ogundamisi and Biyi Olayemi, the group called
for a judicial enquiry into the crisis and accused the police
of bias in its operations.
Excerpts of the statement read:
"As a non-violent organisation, which has covenanted with
Oodua to defend the Yoruba people, we joined hands with the
people of Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government to fight the
continuous invasion of the Local Government by armed robbers
and bandits who perpetrate their nefarious activities by
killing and robbing the peace-loving people resident in
Ajegunle.
"On Wednesday 27th of October, 1999, the vigilance group in
this area which include Yorubas, non-Yorubas and mainly OPC
members got a distress call from a house that a robbery
operation was going on. The vigilance group got to the house
and engaged in a duel with these robbers who had killed a
pregnant woman and robbed her off the sum of N20,000. These
young men whom we later discovered only rob in Lagos to
finance their armed campaign in the Niger Delta and Ilaje,
Itsekiri zone were handed over to the Ajeromi/Ifelodun police
station; the police took the names and addresses of the
people who brought them. And subsequently Ijaw youths
mobilised themselves and stormed the Ajeromi police station,
forcefully released the suspected robbers, stole police
ammunition and then collected the addresses of the vigilance
group. At about 5 a.m. in the early hours of the morning of
the 28th Saturday 1999, they stormed known residences of
Yorubas killing and burning their houses. Seven OPC members
and ten of the people were killed in the early morning
operation.
"The Ijaws went further to attack the palace of the Baale of
Ayetoro and gave him the worst beating of his life. They
forced him to eat dinner and only left him after he was made
to give them some money. The Baale had since been under
police protection.
"In the evening, the Egbesu boys mobilised themselves to
further attack the people displaying banners that all
water-side areas including those in Lagos belong to the
Ijaws. The OPC made a formal report to the police station and
the divisional police officers promised to look into it. The
OPC waited for police reaction which never came and we had no
choice other than to mobilise and call out our people to
defend and protect Ajegunle from further siege. This we
maintained until the early hours of Monday 1st of November
when the police came in and started hunting for O.P.C.
members killing and injuring others.
-- THE GUARDIAN --
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