By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
No fewer than five teenagers between the ages of 15 and 20 were killed on Sunday, April 5, 2020 in a bloody clash involving rival street hoodlums in Orile-Iganmu area of Lagos State.
The clash, no doubt, was a fall out of the stay-at-home directive by the Nigerian government to prevent the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
Trouble, however, started to build up in the early hours of Sunday when the hoodlums numbering over 40 armed with matchets/cutlasses and short guns gathered in groups in some streets within the area, smoking cannabis (Indian Hemp) and taking sachet alcoholic drinks/ gins excessively.
As they became highly intoxicated later in the day, they went on rampage and became destructive, breaking and forcing open locked provision shops and other shops, carted away items inside them and molested any person who dared or challenged them in their dubious and nefarious activities.
The rampage, which resulted in exchange of gun fire endangered the lives of the residents within the area who stayed in doors with fear of being attacked or hit by stray bullets.
However, the arrival of the combined team of police and soldiers quelled the fight as the hoodlums ran away for fear of being shot or apprehended by the security men. Despite the presence of the security men, some stubborn hoodlums remained recalcitrant and were shot by the soldiers.
The presence of the police and soldiers restored relative calm and safety which made people move with their hands raised up to show compliance and avoid being arrested or shot. Our correspondent also raised his hands up while on the beat.
Meanwhile, the stay-at-home directive appears to be fading away within the area as economic activities are gradually gathering momentum, especially in the evenings.
Commercial buses without Lagos colour and the banned tricycle (Kele Marwa) are gradually plying on Bale and Salvage streets in Orile-Iganmu as well as Babs Animashaun Street in Surulere suburb, picking passengers to their various destinations.
TheNiche observed that some shops other than the foodstuffs and medicines shops opened for business. Other people that could not open shops, sat in front of their shops inquiring from passersby what they want to buy.
A check by TheNiche revealed that people are becoming bored with the stay-at-home directive, more so, when there are no palliative to soften the hunger.
Most people have exhausted what they have to feed on. Most of them complained running out of money and therefore have no other option than to open shops to sell and get money for food.
One Mrs Joy Iyamu who sells assorted articles said, “I cannot continue to lock my shop and my children die of hunger.
“The government is not giving me food and money and they want us to stay-at-home.
“How can we survive?” she asked.
Another dealer on handsets and accessories who refused to disclose his name said, “My wife is heavy (pregnant). If I stay at home, how can I cope when she delivers?
“If I don’t come out and sell, how can I raise money to take care of her? “If the government wants us to stay-at-home, let them give us money,” he pleaded.
