Cultists on rampage destroy 100 vehicles in Lagos
Calls to emergency number yield no result
Some youths believed to be cultists went on rampage in the Ijeshatedo area of Surulere, Lagos State, on Sunday, vandalizing scores of vehicles.
The suspected cultists are believed to have visited the area about 1 am to look for a drug dealer who is said to be a son of a landlord in the community, but did not meet him.
Their inability to track down the drug dealer reportedly angered the hoodlums who then started destroying the vehicles parked on the roadside by residents of Ehi and Akewukewe streets around 1am.
“It is unfortunate and people are bitter,” a resident told the Punch.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, stated that the state emergency numbers were called before the incident escalated.
He said, “The cultists came around 1am and invaded Ehi and Akewukewe streets. Every vehicle on the two streets was vandalised; windscreens were shattered and I can say this was done to almost 100 vehicles.
“We called the Lagos emergency numbers and they promised that men of the Rapid Response Squad would be there but they didn’t show up, so those cultists had a field day destroying cars.
“Even till now, nobody has shown up; all we are left with are damaged cars; people will have to start counting their losses and see what they can salvage.
“We learnt that those who perpetrated the act were cultists; they came with machetes and guns. People are bitter about the whole thing.
“They actually came for a young man who deals in drugs. When they did not find him, they vented their anger on the cars on the two streets, leaving the owners to bear the pain.”
The Commander, Lagos State Rapid Response Squad, CSP Yinka Egbeyemi, stated that residents did not call the unit directly.
He said, “You’ll call the people in charge of the emergency numbers, there’s no way they will give us the call without us answering. If there is anything concerning an emergency, it goes directly to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and they direct it to us.”
