Two businessmen have been reportedly shot dead by hoodlums who invaded Igbe-Lara community, in the Igbogbo-Bayeku Local Council Development Area of Lagos State on Sunday.
It was gathered that everyone was going about their daily activities when suddenly no fewer than 15 hoodlums, armed with sophisticated weapons, stormed the Igbe-Lara bus stop and opened fire on the people. Residents and business owners, whose shops were located in the area, were said to have scampered for safety.
However, while a yet-to-be-identified man dealing in the dog business was shot dead at the front of a leisure centre, Dre Bar, another businessman, Olanrewaju Omobolaji, aka Excel, was also gunned down in a pub, Garden Bar.
A resident, Abideen Akintunde, said Omobolaji was shot in the head, adding that aside from the two dead victims, some other residents sustained bullet wounds.
He said, “The assailants stormed the area in two vehicles and shot continuously. A lot of people were wounded and two people were killed at different locations. The people who perpetrated the crime were about 15 in number.
“They came with sophisticated weapons. There was no sign that they had a target because the moment they got to the Igbe-Lara Junction, they opened fire and kept shooting as they entered into the inner street leading to the Garden Bar. While shooting, they drove past the bar and went down the road.
“It was when they were returning that they shot one of the customers, Olanrewaju Omobolaji, in the head inside the Garden Bar; he died on the spot. Later, we gathered that another man who sold dogs close to the Dre Bar, on the Igbe-Ginti Road, was also shot dead at the front of the bar.” A picture made available showed Omobolaji’s corpse on the floor in a pool of blood.
Another resident, Seyi Ismaila, while lamenting the insecurity in the area, said everywhere was tense when the hoodlums invaded the area around 4pm. He noted that it was not the first time shooting incidents would happen in the community.
“Landlords, residents, business owners are tired of the insecurity in the community. Sometimes, you see cultists moving around with guns. We have had series of shooting incidents involving cultists in this community and we are tired.
“The police should be able to trace the people that came to the community, killed two people and injured others. The community was very peaceful before, but at the moment, we are scared and we are no longer safe because of the activities of these cultists. We want law enforcement agencies to deploy policemen in the area to protect lives and property in Igbe-Lara.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said only one person was killed, adding that the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had ordered the Area Commander to beef up security in the area.
Adejobi said, “The incident happened opposite Dre Bar, in Olomitutu Junction, Igbe. A man was shot dead opposite the bar and policemen from Ijede division were deployed in the area. We don’t have any record of another death in the area. But from observation, apart from cultists, we know some boys usually come together in the name of gangsterism and cause problems.
“Most of these gang members are young and into hard drugs, so, when they are on drugs, they misbehave. But the Commissioner of Police had a meeting with the Area Commander to beef up security and normalcy has been restored.”
PUNCH