On Wednesday, about 200 structures were razed in Otodo Gbame, an Egun community in Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos State, during the clash between some Egun and Yoruba youths.
The crisis, had started because the residents in Lekki refused to vacate their homes after the Yoruba youths had warned them to do so immediately.
The Egun community urged them to stay and ignore the warning as they were miscreants and hoodlums who had no say in land matters.
This action was said to have triggered the clash between the Yoruba youths and the Egun community, with the Yoruba’s, setting structures on fire.
Two persons were said to have been injured during the clash, while the area was quickly deserted as the fire raged.
Some residents reportedly salvaged their property from the fire and fled.
It was learnt that policemen from the Rapid Response Squad, Maroko division and the Area J Command, Ajah, went to the area to restore normalcy.
The residents abandoned their homes and fled the scene of the fire, with a family abandoning their two-month-old baby inside the building with the house locked.
The police were able to rescue the baby and reunite her with her parents.
According to reports, nobody was killed in the clash but about three persons sustained injuries, and the entire community was razed by the fire.
A resident, who identified himself only as Hunsu, said,
“The crisis started on Sunday. Some people came and said they had bought our land and we should relocate. We did not know that the hoodlums would go to this extent.
“The crisis escalated on Wednesday when they invaded the community and set fire to our property. All my belongings are gone. My wife and children are homeless.”
Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, visited the scene of the incident and had a discussion with the leaders of the two groups.
SP Dolapo Badmos, the Lagos state Police Public Relations Officer, said five suspects were arrested in connection with the crisis.
She said, “The command received a report that the Egun and Yoruba communities were engaged in a serious brawl over land issue. Upon receipt of the information, the command operatives from the RRS and men of the Area J Command moved in. Some shanties being occupied by the residents were set ablaze by the warring factions.
“A baby was rescued from one of the houses. Five suspects were also arrested in connection with the fracas. The CP visited the scene and promised that everyone involved in the clash would be duly prosecuted.”
