By Okosun Dennis
Life can never be the same again for some individuals who were caught in the brouhaha that engulfed a slum along Ajah-Epe expressway notoriously referred to as “Bowler” as men of the Nigerian Police swooped on the noisy area and evicted all the occupants on Sunday morning.
It was learnt that “Bowler” has been existing for some years now, having occupied a large expanse of land that terminates along Ado-Badore road.
A reliable source hinted that the area occupies hundreds of hectre of undeveloped land said to belong to the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Aremu Akiolu hence the occupiers see it as an escape route at resolving their accommodation problems.
The place, with thousands of thatched houses built with make-shift bamboo, cartoons, woods and canopies is populated by miscreants and streets urchins.
On a normal day, sundry criminal acts manifest. Brothels and women of like faith dominate the area with avalanche of cult related activities and lynching of people to deaths is common occurrences.
A victim who pleaded anonymity but an indigene of Rivers State said the police stormed there in the dead of the night and arrested some criminals who allegedly were involved at setting ablaze Ajah Police station and attacks on commercial banks as they were traced to the slum.
“About four people have died. In an attempt to escape, some ran into the river behind us and they got drown and the water went with them.”
“The area boys are not setting the remaining place on fire. The whole place is burnt. I am inside the bush now with some of my properties I could salvage,” he further explained.
Asked why the miscreants are setting the remaining place on fire, he added, “the policemen have gone and since their side was burnt, they felt everyone should be a loser hence their setting everything on fire. The fire is still burning right now. This place is no longer safe for anybody to live.”
At the moment, unease calm pervades the place as people are moving their things in droves to no particular place or direction.
Attempt to confirm the motive of storming the place by the police and number of arrest made was not possible as the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Olumuyiwa Adejobi didn’t answer both phone calls and message sent to his WhatsApp.
Bowler has been known for harbouring miscreants and criminals. At the slightest opportunity, bad boys descend on the expressway and block it while they extort people and steal phones from them.
A resident in one of the estate close to the bowler sought for police intervention at ensuring that the boys that escape from the bowler do not infiltrate into their estate.
It was also gathered that during the #EndSARS protest that was hijacked by hoodlums, most of those boys that attacked shops, bank ATM and burnt Area J Command at Ajiwe and the Police Station also at Ajiwe allegedly reside there, hence based on intelligence, the police has been running after the criminals with a view to arresting them for possible prosecution.
This year alone, it was learnt, cult clashes have led to over four persons killed and dumped along the expressway. On extreme case, cult boys and girls engage in reprisal attacks, often times causing nightmare for genuine squatters.
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/pandemonium-in-ajah-as-police-decimates-hoodlums-camp/
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