Residents Flee Lagos Community As Robbers Write About Impending “Christmas Visit”

Some residents, landlords and tenants of Dejuwogbo community, Oke-Ota Ona, Ikorodu, in Lagos State, have abandoned their homes after receiving a threat notice posted in the neighborhood by gunmen suspected to be robbers.

Those who have not temporarily relocated are worried about their safety as they endure fearful nights.

It was learnt that the people woke up last Saturday to the posters of masked armed men pasted in strategic points in the community.

In the notice, the gunmen threatened to attack the community on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and demanded maximum cooperation.

According to Punch, some of the community leaders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the residents had become nervous since the notice was pasted.

One of them said the threat had been reported to the police at the Igbogbo Police Station and they promised to do something about it.

He said, “We woke up to the notice on Saturday morning. They posted the posters across the community but they are more prominent in some parts. Two were posted on the wall of a mosque. They didn’t paste them at the main entrance where our security men could have easily seen them. Some people are suspecting that insiders might be involved.

“The tension has been very high. If you get to our community by 8pm, you may not see anybody outside again. Some people have relocated temporarily. Some would come home in the morning and leave in the evening. On our own, we are putting gates at some points and installing security gadgets.”

A landlord explained that some thugs looted a warehouse belonging to a politician in the community during the violence that broke out during the ENDSARS protest, noting that the robbers might have been emboldened by the act.

He added, “The problem is that the government does not allow security guards to use guns whereas those who are planning to attack the community are coming with guns. If you don’t want the security men to bear guns, give us an armed policeman who can be with them. We are appealing to the government to allow them to use guns even if they have to register the guns.”

A resident said the notice had left his family traumatised and deprived them of sleep.

He said, “It has been a very nasty experience. We are now awoken by any slight sound at night. On Sunday while we were asleep, I heard the sound of the gate around 4.30am. My wife got out of bed and alerted me. I tried to calm her. We eventually discovered that it was our neighbour who was going to work.

“I can no longer go to work early. I now wait till 6am. This is the first time I would see robbers threatening to attack a community and I have been living here for four years. Children who are grown enough now live in fear. Some people have left the community because of this.”