Two rival gangs from Alakuko area of Lagos and Dalemo, a border town between Lagos and Ogun states, held the neighbourhoods to ransom for days last week, unleashing terror without let or hindrance.

From last Friday night to Monday afternoon, the warring hoodlums took charge of the communities, killing one another, vandalising shops along their ‘battle ground’ on Alakuko-Agbado Road and stealing goods.

Six persons were reportedly feared dead while others sustained varying degrees of injury before a combined team of police and the military were able to restore normalcy.

Amid the chaotic scenario and its attendant losses, no one could pinpoint the immediate cause of the mayhem. Many thought it was another dose of deadly violence which has been on in the area for about three years.

But our correspondent, who visited the communities on Tuesday gathered that an assault on the girlfriend of one Abiodun aka Confidence – the gang leader of Dalemo boys – led to the fight.

A resident familiar with the activities of the gangs also confirmed that the assault led to the crisis. The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the majority of the hoodlums as youths aged between 18 and 25.

He said, “Confidence who was trying to avenge the assault on his girlfriend is just 25 years old but dreaded. He had been arrested more than twice but was later released. He was released from prison last year after spending eight months. Residents were shocked when they saw him walking on the streets again. It seems he has connections.

“The fight died down on Sunday until Alakuko boys went to attack Confidence’s second-in-command at a place where he was being treated for injuries he sustained on Friday night. They hacked him to death.”

Traders count losses

Our correspondent who moved round the scene of the clash on Tuesday noticed that glass doors and windows of several shops had been shattered. There was still fear in the air as many shops had yet to reopen for commercial activities.

A boutique operator, Olayinka Oladipupo, whose shop was destroyed, lamented how she had serially become a victim of the clashes.

“This was the third time they would vandalise my shop,” she stated, casting a sorry look at glass remnants littering her shop frontage.

She said, “It was someone who called me around 10am on Saturday and told me that my shop had been attacked again. I wanted to eat when the person called me but I couldn’t eat again. I reported to the police and wrote a statement.

“The second time they vandalised my shop, they carted away goods worth about N2m. I also reported to the police at Alakuko but they could not do anything about it. We didn’t know the major cause of their fights. I was lucky this time that they only destroyed the glasses.”

Like Oladipupo, it was the third time a barman, Oloruntoba Adegboyega, would suffer losses for the crises he knew nothing about. He was in his shop around 11pm last Friday attending to customers when the fight broke out. By the time the dust settled, he could not accurately account for the overwhelming loss the gangs had caused him.

He said, “We saw some young boys moving from Dalemo to Alakuko. This was not the first time something like that would happen so everybody started closing shops. On Saturday morning, I was called that my shop had been burgled and drinks carted away. They took away 70 crates of empty bottles and several drinks.

“Around 9pm, on Saturday, they started again. It was on Monday when the military came that the fight was quelled. Till now (Tuesday), many people are still scared of opening shops. It’s really a bad experience. It has been happening but this was much.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said the state police command was working with the Ogun State Police Command to tackle the security challenges at Alakuko-Dalemo and other border areas.

He added, “We have some suspects who are assisting the command in unravelling the situation at Alakuko and its suburbs. Normalcy has been restored to the area and the two commands, Lagos and Ogun, are on the matter.”