Rival gangs clash in Lagos, leave one dead

By Emmanuel Awosika

A clash between rival gangs n the Mile 12 and Owode-Elede areas of Lagos State has left one person dead and many injured.

The clash, which allegedly involved two gangs — the ‘Mile 12 Boys’ and ‘Owode-Elede Boys’ — had been ongoing for some time.

Reports say some miscreants exploited the situation to steal from commuters and also destroyed vehicles plying the area. Due to this, many drivers abandoned the area out of fear, leaving travellers stranded.

Some eyewitnesses reportedly said one person lost his life in the clash while the miscreants attacked BRT buses, leading to passengers scampering for safety.

In his reaction, Lagos State Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu said the clash had nothing to do with the #EndSARS protests, adding that security operatives reacted swiftly to contain the situation.

“The miscreants have been clashing among themselves in that area and the clash does not have anything to do with the #EndSARS protest. We have moved in and our patrolmen have responded swiftly.

“Normalcy has been restored but we still have our patrolmen on the ground to make sure that the miscreants don’ t take advantage of the clash to extort money from members of the public. We are still investigating to ascertain the cause of the clash.”

The Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, stated that the command was unaware of any deaths resulting from the clashes.

“The CP has ordered the Area Commander , Area ‘ H’, Ogudu, and other operational outfits especially, the RRS and the task force, to beam their searchlight on the area for necessary anti-crime strategies. We are not aware of any corpse and we cannot confirm any death since we didn’t receive information about any corpse,” he added.