LAWLESSNESS; we are all most guilty

A complicating issue; yet clear cut case of illegality and crave for wealth at all cost, where the natives connived with the Militants to wreck havoc on their communities so that their trade can flourish.

The trade is BUNKERING; illegal pumping of fuel from the NNPC Pipeline that passed through ISAWO & its surroundings in Ikorodu,. For the records Ikorodu is one of the five divisions that make Lagos State, Nigeria. A prominent division it is, that can boast of professionals that made HISTORY, like the first Architect in Nigerian, same as the first Female Medical Doctor in Nigeria, the first SAN Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the RICHEST AFRICAN WOMAN in the world are all from Ikorodu Division, amongst other distinguished personalities doing Nigeria proud

History had it that Ikorodu has the highest number of landlords in Nigeria because almost everybody owns a piece of land there; Ikorodu has the highest number of inhabitants from all tribes there-in, Ikorodu people are very hospitable and highly accommodating. House rent in Ikorodu is incomparably reasonable, same as food stuff; this perhaps explains busy human and vehicular traffic daily experienced there. Due to these and more, masses attention were not drawn to the huge level of illegality going on in some communities there, especially in a place called ISAWO.

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Isawo before now was an ancient community, it began to develop over a decade ago when it experienced influx of Nigerians who can no longer cope with the exorbitant house rent in some other parts of Lagos like, Surulere, Ikeja, Akoka, Obalende, Ebute Metta, etc.

 Aside from the aforementioned, some of those that moved to this peaceful settlement of ISAWO included militants and criminals that were engaged in shady activities like Kidnapping, Bunkering, Robbery, Advance Free Fraud, Human and Drug Trafficking, Rape etc. These criminals rob in broad day light without any fear of the security agents.  They had once accosted one of my siblings in a midday operations. They attempted to rob him off his vehicle and his work tools like laptop, phones and engineering tools, he tried to resist the harassment, hoping the residents would come to his rescue, to our dismay the onlookers pretended as if nothing was ever amiss.

Sensing danger, he ran out of the vehicle for his life, two hours after, he attempted to return to where the car was parked, surprisingly these criminals were still there waiting for him! Can you beat that? On that fateful day, his only saviour was a police officer friend whom he called for rescue.  Such incidents happen daily in ‘ISAWO’.

The height of these criminal activities is BUNKERING which they carry out at will, with the support of the community itself, it got so bad that some residents of Ikorodu will rather buy fuel from bunkerers at an incredible price per litre than buy from the registered filling stations scattered within Ikorodu and its environs. People that were involved in these shady activities lived in affluence to the envy of all.

  This nefarious activities went unchecked for years until a couple of months ago in 2016 when our beloved President, Mohammed Buhari waged war against Bunkerers in notorious areas like Areppo, Isawo, Ajegunle, Badagry and other areas where Bunkering strives.

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 He fought the Bunkerers disguising as militants in Ikorodu, like a human being will fight rodents, since the Police and the Army could not successfully conquer this group of criminals, men of the Nigerian Air Force showed the stuff they are made off with jet fighters, 4 in number. Everywhere including their sophisticated equipment that can fill up to 50 tankers before dawn were severely destroyed.

 Mind you, residents of communities where Bunkering flourished in Ikorodu had already fled to other locations around Lagos, because these unpatriotic elements were equally into serial killing, rape, kidnapping, and other criminal activities. After 3 days of bombing and shelling, sanity returned to Ikorodu.  Today, Isawo is peaceful and habitable The militants had since fled back to their National Base in the South-South part of Nigeria doing what they know how to do best illegally.

No more bunkering and kidnapping in Ikorodu. The most exciting part, is weeks after the battle, a number of filling stations on the Expressway closed for business, some transferred ownership, while some were totally sold off to new owners.

 President Mohammad Buhari’s victory on Bunkerers in Ikorodu is the beginning of success, goodwill and new lease of life for the people of this community..