Residents of Children Palace Road, Ikorodu, Lagos State on Monday (February 27, 2017) reportedly witnessed an attack by alleged Fulani herdsmen who allegedly attacked a gas station at a construction site.
The attack was said to have occurred at about 5pm yesterday on a property belonging to Mr. Olutola Etimiri.
An eyewitness disclosed that prior to the attack, the alleged Fulani herdsmen had hidden in a nearby the bush while their cattle allegedly destroyed the gas station.
The eyewitness stated the site manager, Mr. Korede Oyetola, was allegedly shot at by the herdsmen as he came out to calm the employees.
He added that members of the local vigilante who were in the area at the time of attack engaged the herdsmen to repel further attacks on employees of the gas station.
Three persons were said to have died in the melee.
The Landlords’ Association Chairman of the neighborhood, Mr. Kayode Femi, who described the incident as unfortunate, narrated how the herdsmen and their cattle had caused the community sleepless nights.
He stated that the activities of the herdsmen and their cattle had resulted to the destruction of farm produce and property worth millions of Naira.
The association therefore called the government to place a ban on open grazing in order to checkmate the menace of the herdsmen and their cattle.
The Lagos State Police Spokesperson, Tajudeen Bello, in a statement said the Force was investigating the incident reported by the Chairman of the landlords’ Association.
The Force added that the deceased persons have since been deposited at the Lagos State General Hospital Motuary Ikorodu.
However, the eyewitness has alleged that the Chairman Miyetti Allah Association, Mallam Musa Ibrahim, vowed to retaliate the alleged deaths of the herdsmen by the local vigilante and the gas station security operatives.
There is yet no independent confirmation of the threat.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Odo-Eran Meat Sellers Association, Chief Jimoh Oridedi, has disagreed with the call for ban on open grazing.
He stated that to the best of his knowledge, ‘no law prohibits open grazing in Lagos’ urging people of the community to learn to tolerate the herdsmen and their cattle.
Oridedi commended the Police for combating crime in Lagos and Nigeria, as a whole.
He also applauded the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Sen. Bola Tinubu and President Muhammadu Buhari for uniting Nigerians despite several challenges.
