The Police in Lagos on Sunday arrested five suspects over clash between scavengers and area boys at Oke Odo in Lagos.
This was disclosed in a press statement by the Lagos command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana.
According to the Spokesman at about 10.00am, one Alhaji Adekunle Habib who is a trader at Ilepo market reported at Oke Ode Police Station that there was a misunderstanding between one Hausa scavenger and an Area Boy from Yoruba ethnic group in which the area boy carried some goods on his head and was pushed by the scavenger leading to a fracas.
“The area boy was carrying some goods on his head and was pushed by the Hausa boy in error and the goods fell down.
“Arguments ensued between the two parties which led to an exchange of blows. Friends of the two parties joined in solidarity fight and other miscreants took advantage of the moment to steal and loot.”
The Lagos/Abeokuta expressway was in disarray during the fight before sanity was restored by law enforcement agents.
“What started as a fight between two miscreants almost snowballed into ethnic crises, if not for the timely intervention of the police,” Elkana said.
Police teams from Oke Odo Division , Rapid Response Squads, Taskforce, Tactical Units and Police Mobile Force. Divisions within the Area Command equally sent reinforcements.
The situation was brought under control and traffic cleared. No dead recorded but four persons sustained various degrees of injuries and are receiving medical attention.
However, five suspects namely, Kabiru Mohammed m’, Kabiru Adamu ‘m’, Bashiru Mohammed ‘m, Saliu Madu ‘m’ and Yusuf Amuda ‘m’ were arrested in connection with the breach of peace.
Normalcy has been restored and patrols are ongoing in the affected areas while suspects will be charged to Court.
Abeeb Alawiye formerly works with The ICIR as a Reporter/Social Media officer. Now work as a Senior Journalist with BBC News Yoruba. You can shoot him an email via [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @habsonfloww