Residents flee as hoodlums take over Mile 12

Etim Ekpimah

Many residents of Mile 12 in the Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State have fled their homes following widespread unrest in the area.

Some of the residents fled to Ikorodu where they have relatives while others fled to Ojota, Shomolu, Ikeja, among others.

Commuters and motorists were said to have abandoned their vehicles as they were seen running in all directions for safety.

Our correspondent spoke with a nursing mother and her husband who were preparing to go back to Mile 12 after the unrest had been quelled and normalcy restored.

The couple, Tunde and Helen Bakare, said on Thursday that they fled Mile 12 to Ikorodu following widespread violence and criminality in the area.

The man, whose wife is a nursing mother, blamed the government for its ineptitude towards the security of lives and property of citizens.

He said: “We have never witnessed this kind of criminality before with hundreds of young ones wielding rifles and other dangerous weapons.

“We never had it so bad since Independence. This week alone we have had two attacks. This is happening because of leadership failure.”

Another Mile 12 resident who was also seen in the Igbogbo area of Ikorodu, said he fled Mile 12 on Thursday morning owing to gangsterism.

According to him, he is considering his choice of location from Mile 12 before the end of the year.

The attack was also shown in a viral video shared by a Twitter user showed residents and motorists fleeing for their lives as they sought safety.

Another Twitter user who recounted his ordeal said, “I escaped mogging and robbery by some whiskers this morning, Boyz legit were robbing vehicles and pax this morning at Mile 12, the police were there …”.

However, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, has reacted to the Mile 12 crisis when he tweeted that normalcy has been restored and that Lagos police has deployed its men to take charge of the situation.

He added that the command would brief newsmen on Mile 12 situation soon.