Lagos police boss probes attack on Ebute Meta church

By Dedeigbo Ayodeji

Lagos State Commissioner of Police Edgal Imohimi has directed Commander Area ‘C’ Command Surulere to investigate the attack on a church at Makoko in Yaba local council development area of the state.

Three unconfirmed deaths were reported during the attack on Thursday by some hoodlums and officials of the Lagos State task force on environmental sanitation. The church was also burnt.

Residents of the community deplored the attack and called on the police boss and the state government to investigate the attack.

A resident of Makoko, Ayodele Akintimehin, who narrated the incident to PM NEWS, said: “This case has been on for the past 65 years. It started inside the church premises at Ebute Meta.

“This morning some uniformed men came in with hoodlums and guns and started firing teargas at us. We resisted them and demanded a court order to enter the disputed land measuring about 10 hectares.

“Rather than show us the order, they started firing into the air to scare us. During the shooting, many residents were killed those injured were rushed to the General Hospital in Marina.

“The dispute over the ownership of this land is in court. The court is yet to decide ownership of the vast land. We are the owners of the land and we have our documents to back our ownership.

“We want the case to be decided by the court not hoodlums backed by officials of the sanitation task force.

“So far, three persons have been confirmed dead. One of the bodies was picked up by officials of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti. Mr Imohimi should investigate the hoodlums who said they were sent by the owners of the land.

Another resident who identified himself as Osuolale Olalekan decried the use of government task force officials to burn down a church by an aggrieved party to a suit.

”I don’t understand why government officials should be used by land grabbers to set the church of God ablaze. It is unfair.

”One of the victims died at the Lagos Island General Hospital, Marina. Doctors said had lost too much blood,” he stated.

When contacted, the Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Achike Oti, confirmed the attack, saying, “The Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbing went to Makoko with a court order. The moment the youths of the community saw the task force, they started throwing stones at them.

”They have to quickly call the nearest police station for reinforcement following a shoot-out. I think one of the youths was mistakenly shot and rushed to the hospital but he later died.

”The Lagos State Commissioner of Police Edgal Imohimi has assigned the Commander, Area ‘C’ to investigate the matter.”