Oshodi area of Lagos State was in the early hours of Sunday thrown into commotion after two separate factions of ‘area boys’ in the area clashed with guns, machetes, bottles, stones, sticks and other dangerous weapons.
The fight which threw residents into panic was between Mafoluku Boys and Orile Boys.
The streets mostly affected were Oshodi Road, Afariogun, Osho, Ago Ijaiye, and Ishola Daniel.
The fight, which began around 4am lasted for two hours, also left more than 10 people injured and forced churches within the affected areas to close for fear of being attacked.
Beside people that were injured, several vehicles were vandalized and property worth millions of naira were destroyed.
The fight also led to the looting of various shops in the area. The popular Boku Mart on Oshodi Road was not spared as the hoodlums tried to gain entry into the store.
The hoodlums also attacked a health facility K&B Hospital, where the injured were been treated.
It was gathered that the fight began at a carnival in Temidire Street after a small disagreement between members of the two groups snowballed into a vicious attack .
The issue later degenerated into violence after one member of the Mafoluku Boys was injured.
It was further learnt that Orile Boys hurriedly left the venue of the carnival and returned back to their base.
Angered by the action of the Orile Boys, the Mafoluku Boys, numbering about 100, stormed the base of the former, attacking anybody they meet in the affected streets.
The Mafoluku Boys were said to be led by one youth called ‘Drogba’.
A resident, who simply gave his name as Adekunle, narrated how the hoodlums who were said to be acting under the influence of dangerous drugs invaded their area.
“Surprisingly, the armed thugs were teenagers between 16 and 19 years. They looted people’s shops and destroyed vehicles . They were armed with machetes, guns and bottles.
Patrol teams and operatives from the Akinpelu, Makinde and Mosafejo police stations were promptly deployed to the scene. The teams swiftly contained the situation and restored normalcy to the area.
When NewsDay visited the scene, damaged vehicles littered everywhere and broken bottles littered the streets.
It was also observed that some churches in the area could not conduct Sunday service.
A police source confirmed that 7 suspects have been arrested in connection with the clash. He said axes, cutlasses were recovered in the process.
Efforts to reach the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Akinpelu Police Station, CSP Yakubu proved abortive at press time.
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