PUNCH METRO gathered that the orgy of violence, which started on Thursday, climaxed on Saturday evening resulting in the death of the four men identified simply as Uche; Isiaka; Matthew and an unidentified man in Odi Olowo area of Mushin.
According to an elderly member of the community, who identified himself simply as Segun, the violence is being fomented by a man identified simply as Toba.
It was learnt that the same man also had a hand in the recurring crisis in Jibowu-Fadeyi area of the state.
PUNCH METRO learnt that following clashes in Fadeyi in May, policemen have been carrying out routine patrols in the area as well as Mushin and its environs, which brought about relative peace.
The relative peace led to the gradual withdrawal of policemen, an action which was protested by some of the residents.
Some of the residents of the area, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, on Sunday, attributed the renewed violence to the gradual withdrawal of the policemen.
A doctor, who runs a clinic in the area, identified some of the injured victims in his clinic as Idris Animashaun, Ismaila Ogunmola and another unconscious man identified simply as Taofeeq.
He said since last week, he had been treating patients with bullet wounds.
“I have been treating patients all week. Just this morning, a man was brought to my clinic and was dead on arrival. I even had to reject some patients yesterday (Saturday) because my hands are full. I don’t know why the government is doing nothing about this,” the doctor, who craved anonymity, said.
Some youths in the area accused policemen from MOPOL 20 of backing the area boys who attacked their community on Saturday.
“When Toba’s men came to attack us, we resisted them. To our dismay, Mopol 20 men began to take sides with them and even shot at us. I don’t know why Nigeria is like this,” one of them, who declined to give his name, said.
A senior police officer, who spoke to our correspondent, said the crisis, which started some years back, was now getting out of hand, adding that the police and the state government had made efforts to resolve the problem.
The officer, who did not want his name mentioned, said, “Some years ago, the then Commissioner of Police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo, along with the Area D Commander, Mr. Uwem Akpan, had a meeting with the aggrieved parties and they reached a compromise. However, after Akpoyibo left, the problem resurfaced.
“Ever since, the area commander has invited them for more talks but Toba has refused to show up at the command.”
The hot spots in Mushin, which the police have identified as Akala, Alhaji Lasisi, Aileru, Oyegunle streets as well as the Onipanu end of the railway line are notorious for drug trafficking.
A man, who identified himself simply as Ade, attributed the crisis to supremacy battle between two factions over which of the groups would control the area and extort money from traders.
Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, said the situation was now under control, adding that investigations were still ongoing.
“The clash was between two factions of area boys over the issue of collecting money from traders in the area. The violence escalated around 3am on Saturday resulting in the death of two people before the arrival of the police. One corpse has been taken to Isolo General Hospital, while another has been buried,” he said.
Our correspondent who visited the community reported that there were expended cartridges of bullets on some streets in the area, while some vehicles and shops had been vandalised.
Policemen were seen carrying out stop and search operations at roadblocks while many residents stood in front of their houses recalling what had happened earlier that day.
Meanwhile, a tank, which supplied water to the community had been destroyed by bullets thereby leaving residents of the area without water.
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