Lagosians tense as cultists seize neighbourhoods

 

Mufutau, Malik and Rahimot

Source: Punch Online

 

Members of Buccaneer, a cult group which two deceased brothers – Mufutau and Malik Akewusola – allegedly belonged to, may be warming up to avenge last week’s murder of associates.

A source told our correspondent that word had gone round that the Buccaneer members would kill 40 members of a rival gang said to have killed the brothers.

A 32-year-old housewife, Rahimot Balogun, was shot dead alongside the brothers on May 2, 2013 at Shitta area of Surulere, Lagos State, when eight gunmen laid siege to the area and murdered the brothers.

Shitta is no stranger to gun violence, our source said. The area was said to be the base of a number of gangs, whose members are made up of students, tricycle operators, bus conductors, drivers and area boys.

Cultism used to be the exclusive preserve of students of higher institutions.

But in recent years, gangs made up of ordinary youths, have sprung up in different parts of the country.

The source, who said he knew many members of the Buccaneer group at Shitta and Akerele areas of Surulere, claimed that many youths in the area already knew that the killing of the brothers portended more violence.

Saturday PUNCH was referred to a contact at Shomolu, a Lagos suburb, who was said to be conversant with activities of cult groups in the areas.

He told our correspondent that as far as Lagos was concerned, Mushin, Surulere, Bariga and Somolu were the bases of these street gangs.

He reinforced the claim that Buccaneer members were gearing up for a war.

“I heard this a few days after the boys were killed. We are not sure about the gang responsible for the killing yet. But Buccaneer boys will make someone to pay for the killing of those boys. They said they will multiply the casualty they have suffered by 20.

“The two brothers look alike so much. When those men went to the scene, their target was to kill Mufutau, even though his brother was also a Buccaneer. Both of them were shot because they looked alike,” the contact said.

Findings revealed that hardly does a week passes without one gang-related attack or another in Shomolu, Mushin, Surulere and Bariga.

Attacks and killings by members of the gangs have been reported numerous times but in many cases, perpetrators of the act escaped arrest.

On March 18, 2013, Adeolu Otenaike (26), a student of a university in Benin Republic was killed by suspected members of the Black Axe Confraternity.

Otenaike was said to have been a victim of a cult war in Mushin at the time.

The war later claimed the lives of the Chairman of Keke NAPEP operators in Ojuelegba, Lekan Lawal, and three others.

The police command in the state has taken some suspects into custody in connection with the case of the Akewusolas, but has not revealed their culpability in the crime.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that though the cult groups in Mushin, Bariga, Shomolu and Surulere regularly clash, they usually worked together during political seasons for financial gains.

“Mushin, Fadeyi and Abule-Ijesha are populated by Eiye Confraternity members. The gangs in Shomolu have age grades. There is the Feeling/Stealing Boys. Most of their members are between the ages of 13 and 19.

“These boys are the ones that graduate to become members of the gang called EFCC, which specialises in robberies and car theft.

“The Feeling/Stealing Boys operate in Shomolu and Bariga between 1am and 4am and they move together in a large group of about 20. What they do when they meet anybody at that time of the day is to swoop on such a person, get him down and steal all the valuables on the person. That’s where they got their name.”

He maintained that he had spent a long time in Shomolu and had realised that a lot of young boys who were born and brought up in the area usually ended up joining the gang.

According to him, the EFCC boys got the name of their group from their initial modus operandi.

“When the group first started, what they did was to lurk around banks, ambush and rob internet fraudsters who had gone to cash the money they got from swindling their victims. They referred to themselves as the EFCC (after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) operatives on the streets. But because they get nothing much from that anymore, they have since diversified into carjacking and robbery,” he said.

Our correspondent learnt that most of the gang members engage in robberies regularly. They are usually the ones who carry out looting at the scenes of riot as it was in the case of the crises that broke out at Fadeyi area of the Ikorodu Road in 2012.

The gang members may have insiders within the police force, a source in Bariga alleged.

Gang-related issues are quite scary for many residents to discuss, which was why some of those who spoke with our correspondent refused to give their names.

But the Bariga resident gave his name simply as Adegun. He said he had seen a lot of gang members who carried out robberies and violent attacks in the past, walk free a few days after they were arrested.

“Sometimes when they go to attack someone, they leave the place before the police get there. Who knows if they are being tipped off?

“Our politicians are not even helping matters. Most of the politicians at the council level are the ones using the gang members. They always know how to get them out when they arrest the boys,” he said.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ngozi Braide, said she had not got a report about any rumour of a plan by any group to carry out an attack as a result of the murder of the Akewusola brothers. But she promised that security would be tightened in areas prone to such violence at Surulere but called for information from members of the public about the activities of the gangs.

Braide said, “Any individual who wants to give the police information about a plan by any group of people to unleash mayhem should try and contact me. I can assure such persons that their identities will be totally protected.

“If residents have any information but are not sure if their identities will be protected, they can hide their phone numbers and call me. We need to let people understand that in security matters, we are all stakeholders.

“We are not resting on our oars about security in Surulere after the incident. Policemen are still stationed around the scene. So, we are ready to ensure that no further violence erupts.”