Badoo: Police, OPC extorting us – Ikorodu residents cry out

After our story last week on the jungle justice being meted out by residents and vigilante groups in various communities in Ikorodu, the police, Lagos State Government and a faction of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) have swooped into the area in a bid to restore calm and also apprehend members of the shadow group, Badoo.

Since the mass deployment of both the police and OPC, numerous arrests of people who are suspected to be members of the Badoo cult have been announced. According the State’s Police spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, the combined team raided Ibeshe, Ita Maga, Ijede, Ipakodo and other communities with high casualties from the Badoo onslaught.
Eventually, they were able to arrest over 100 suspects who were said to be undergoing screening.

This swift action by the state and the security agents should normally bring succor to the residents of Ikorodu. The area had been under constant attacks in recent times and dozens of lives have been lost to the notorious group. But days of relief appeared to have been postponed as indiscriminate arrests unleashed hardships and warped sense of justice on the people.

According to our reporter on ground in Ikorodu, there was still no good security in place for the residents even as the presence of large number of policemen in the communities have come with its own problems. Attacks from the Badoo group continued, contradicting the impression that the spate of arrests had degraded their the cult’s capacity.

On Tuesday for instance, three people were confirmed killed following another attack by suspected members of the ritual cult in the Owode-Onirin area on Ikorodu Road, Lagos State. This time, it took place in a church- Crystal Church of Christ, Aladura, located at number 4, Victor Anibaba Street, Owode Weighbridge.
The victims included the Head of the church identified as Mrs. Ajidara, her two-year-old daughter and another woman who lived in the church with them and her own child as well.

In the end, the visitor, her daughter and the church founder’s daughter were confirmed dead while Mrs. Ajidara is currently battling for her life at an undisclosed hospital at the moment.

It was gathered that the cultists scaled the fence of the church in the early hours of Tuesday and used a blunt object to crush their skulls. Parts of their brains were reported missing.

After the incident, which still remained unsolved, the police issued a statement directing everyone living in the Ikorodu area to move around with an identification card. A move many have condemned.

Famous-Cole, in the statement said: “The Lagos State Police Command would like to inform members of the public, especially residents in Ikorodu and environs, that from henceforth, everybody moving around that part
of the state; residents, students or workers should always have on them a valid form of identification.”

A community leader, Waliu Ajikawo in Ijede, while reacting to the force’s statement, said that the police were still not ready to fight Badoo as all their tactics have not been effective. “What is Identity Card going to do? Will a Badoo member wear an ID card that says he is a Badoo member? What exactly will the ID card do for them?

One can walk up to a business centre and make any ID card they want for just N500. Infact they have just made the job of Badoo easier. They can make any phony card and move around freely without being stopped by the police.”

Ajikawo however implored the police to nip Badoo’s operation in the bud as the gang is making a mockery of their efforts.

Also, the presence of the police was meant to put an end to the jungle justice being meted out by residents of the area on people they suspect to be Badoo members. They have taken justice into their own hands after their confidence in the police had dwindled. In many parts on Ikorodu today, one can see streets littered with burnt tyres that were used to burn these suspects alive.

Last Sunday, three suspected Badoo members were caught at the Odogunyan area and they were reportedly said to be in possession of charms and a huge stone, items described as their trade tools. They were tied down and beaten to a pulp. When police got to the area, they were chased away by the angry youths who later burnt the men.

Confirming the incident, Famous-Cole said: “Our operatives responded to a distress call from some residents of Odogunyan in the early hours of Sunday that some suspects were apprehended. Before we got there, they had been lynched. By so doing, the information needed has been destroyed. It was also possible that innocent persons were lynched.” He implored the people not to embark on jungle justice but should make efforts to follow due process.
But all that fell on deaf ears. A day later, on Monday, another Badoo suspect was lynched and burnt to death by a mob at Idera community also in Odogunyan in Ikorodu.

According to reports, when the man was caught and interrogated, he lied that he was a teacher at a private school in the area. When he was taken to the school, it was discovered he was not a worker there. He also said he worked at a firm in the area which turned out also to be false. While he was been interrogated, a woman stepped out, claiming she heard him and five others planning to carry out an attack in the area. They later beat him up, killed him and then set his body on fire.

The story of a young comedian, Paul Chinedu went viral online when he was killed by a vigilante group who suspected that he was a Badoo member.

Sadly, the large presence of police has also failed to inspire confidence in the residents of Ikorodu. In fact, many have seen it as a curse.

According to our reporter who lives in the area, bad eggs in the police have turned the Badoo menace into a money-spinning exercise. Another journalist who lives in the area explained that the police now ‘raid’ areas to arrest young men whom they lock up in the cell. They later release them to friends and families who pay for their release.

The journalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity relayed his own experience. “My neighbour called me on Tuesday begging me to follow her to Ikorodu Police Station as her cousin staying with her was arrested a day before. I asked what they charged him for and she said the police did not say what he did that he was arrested along with other young men in a raid.

“When I got to the station, I was told that the officer in charge was not around and the boy could not be released yet. After much begging, they refused to release him and we had to leave. I later went to meet a lawyer friend of mine to follow me to the station. The boy was later released the next day after the lawyer threatened to take the case up to the DPO. He spent two days in jail without any charges brought against him.”

He also narrated the case of yet another youth in the area who was arrested without charge and the family had to part with N15,000 before he was released.

Our reporter who visited the police station yesterday confirmed that there was a crowd in front of the station, many of whom were family members hoping to have their arrested wards released. Though the Divisional Police Officer at the station refused to speak with him and referred him to the State PPRO, a family member whose child was in custody agreed to speak with us.

Her words: “My son has been here for four days now and they are not telling us what he has done. One of the officers had approached us telling us to bring N40,000, but where can I get that kind of money. I sell fruits and I don’t make that kind of money.”

An officer who spoke to us on condition of anonymity however debunked tales of indiscriminate arrests and extortion at the station, though “there are some bad eggs who go and meet the parents behind to ask for money. For now, we are questioning those in custody, if they are found clean, they will be released.”

This trend was not limited to the police alone. According to those living in Ibeshe in particular, the OPC members have using their newly found operational legitimisation from the police to intimidate and extort people. According to residents, they have been unduly harassing the people and effecting arrests of innocent residents and visitors.

Pastor Mike Arubamen of the Faith Aglow Ministries in Ibeshe complained about how OPC members have been intimidating people in the area, including his worshippers. He alleged that on several occasions, they would ask for money from him and when he refuses, they would threaten to tying him up one day and tell everyone that he is a Badoo member.

“I am not the only person they do this too. I wish the police would take over. My people are afraid to come to church even in the afternoon. You see these OPC boys hanging around smoking Indian hemp, is that one protection? Badoo Boys continue to kill people.”

Also complaining are owners of relaxation spots in the area. According to those we spoke with, business has been poor in recent times due to low patronage. One, Jemmy’s Bar, even said the facility might be closed down soon.

“People are afraid,” Mr Jelili, the owner of Jemmy’s bar said. “They are not even afraid of Badoo boys, they are afraid of the police. They can just come here now and take away all my customers. There is nothing I can do. Though I have some of them that come here that I give drinks and money, yet another unit will come and raid my customers.”

At the moment, the nightlife in Ikorodu seems to be on hold.

As at the time of this report, the police PPRO was yet to respond to the allegations of indiscriminate arrests and extortions by policemen stationed in Ikorodu. (Daily Independent)