Residents of Ejigbo, Ije-dodo, Ikotun and others have been subjected to sleepless nights following the invasion of hoodlums popularly known as ‘one million boys’ in their communities.
According to eye-witnesses, the boys who are between the ages of 12-20 years infiltrated their communities to rob them following the extension of the ongoing lockdown by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Irene Onyeluka who lives in Idimu area of Ejigbo described the incident as a battle between powers as the community turned into a war zone when the police collided with the armed boys. “It was like a battle field when some of those armed boys came from Agege to attack us. Our boys in Orisumbare also had to mobilise themselves with dangerous weapons. We could not sleep, we were asked to keep vigil all the women were asked to stay awake till 3:00 a.m. This is worse than Coronavirus.”
For residents in Ije-dodo area, they have expressed fears as they observed the influx of many boys into the area in the late evening hours. Mrs. Abiola Akinlusi told Community Bell, “I was sitting on the decking of my house when I saw boys mounting from bikes at the junction of my street, there were at least 50 of them. I could not call any security official because we do not have any that I know of in this area, we do not have a police station in Ije-ododo. However, I called on some of our youths who organised a vigilante group to keep watch over the area at night.”
Another resident, Mrs. Ijeoma Mary-Anne blamed the activities of the hoodlums on the lockdown directive by the federal government. “I have heard about ‘one million boys and how they go about robbing and killing people but they have never come to Ije-ododo. I believe that the lockdown may have led them into frustration, hence their evil acts. The government should not have declared a lockdown without making provision for people, they should come to our aid and provide us with food and security because the situation is too much to bear.”
Other areas affected are Ikotun, Iyana-Ipaja and Agege.
