6th April, 2014
Sulaimon Mojeed-Sanni
Soldiers from Ibereko Barracks on the Badagry Expressway, in Lagos State have laid a siege on the Mowo Community in the area, in search of a missing gun.
This mroning, the soldiers mounted a post at the bus stop and prevented shop owners from opening for business.
“They are still at the bus stop, they have a check point there before the incident. They went on with their normal business overnight because they always come to the point in the night. This morning, they ordered the closure of every shop at the bus stop, ” a woman told P.M. NEWS.
Yesterday, it was a near action film for the residents as the unidentified soldiers stormed the community.
A drunk soldier from Ibereko Barracks, along Badagry Express road lost his gun in a beer parlour at Mowo Bus stop last week. So in a bid to recover the stolen weapon, the Soldiers decided to subject every able bodied men in the community to torture and harassment.
The Soldiers, an eye witness said suspected a man currently at large to have stolen the gun.
The suspect’s father was said to have been arrested and questioned on the whereabouts of his son. He was later left off the hook when elders of the community intervened.
“They(Soldiers) declared a mini-curfew in this area. Yesterday they harassed and beat people. Monday’s father was arrested but later released when Elders intervened. People were not allowed to move in or out of the community,” a resident said.
A graduate of Lagos State University, Babatunde Gafar, who lives within the area confirmed the incident.
“I could not even go out of my compound since yesterday. A neighbour of mine who was harassed, recounted what was happening at the Bus stop to me. He said he was told to do countless number of frog-jumps and was only released through the intervention of a relative who appealed to the soldiers,” he said.
He said majority of the boys in the area were told to stay in the neighbouring town till the onslaught subside.