By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
Efforts to rid Lagos of criminals received a boost at the weekend, as police operatives and stakeholders set ablaze a notorious criminal hideout popularly known as Monkey Village, located in Badia area of the state.
The action, according to findings, was part of a unanimous resolution reached at a joint security meeting held on Friday due to the bad image the activities of the criminals has brought on the area and its environ.
Our correspondent who was at the scene, reports that the shanty which occupies about eight acres of land was set on fire in an operation led by the Divisional Police Officer of Badia, CSP Ayoola Olawole, with members of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), representatives of Chiefs, Community Development Associations (CDAs) amongst others in attendance.
It was learnt that the area, measuring about eight acres, has suffered several eviction series in the hands of the State Government, with miscreants and criminally minded persons returning to the area afterwards.
The area is said to be home to several shades of criminals, notably armed robbers, 419ners, pick-pockets, money doublers, child traffickers, among others.
One of the criminal gang was said to be led by the son of a prominent leader in the community, identified as Yomi Idowu.
The Yomi’s gang was said to have been responsible for most of the robbery acts that occurred lately in the community, resulting in the unanimous decision of the Stakeholders to dismantle the den.
Our correspondent reliably gathered that his modus operandi is usually by tricking his victims with fake dollars and lure them to the hideout in the monkey village.
” Having lured their victim, the person will be dispossessed of his or her ATM card and forced to reveal the pin. The victim will be tied with rope and subjected to torture and excruciating pains until he or she disclose the pin number and what ever amount found in the account will be withdrawn”, the source who preferred anonymous revealed.
The latest attrocities of the gang was the transferring of the sum of N1.5 million from the account of an Hausa man, who was tied with rope for two days when he declined to disclose his pin and the sum of N2.4 million from the aide of a Brigadier General, which were reported at Badia Police Station.
The source also revealed that the Police recently arrested three armed robbers with firearms in some brothels during separate operations, who had lodged in the area all the way from the Eastern part of the country for robbery operation in Lagos.
Speaking during the stakeholders meeting, the DPO CSP Ayoola said he has repeatedly told the residents to identify the bad eggs amongst them, which they refused.
He claimed that most of the residents are conspirators, who always benefit from proceeds of the criminal acts.
Describing the residents as illegal squatters, CSP said he has asked them to formalise their stay with HRM Oba Abdulfatai Aromire of Ijora & Iganmu kingdom, the traditional owner of the land, which they declined.
The Chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC) Apapa-Iganmu LCDA Mr. Azeez Okeola and President Of Landlord/Tenant Association of Nigeria Prince Akiola Ojora and other stakeholders present at the meeting supported the decision to dismantle the area for sanity to reign.
