Many persons Wednesday sustained injuries and several properties including 10 trucks vandalised after hoodlums clashed with tanker drivers at Finiger along Badagry Badagry Expressway.
It was gathered that the fight which started Monday evening, was as a result of illegal levy being collected by thugs allegedly loyal to a monarch, Oba Lateefu Olarinde in Satellite Town, Ojo.
The violence was said to have forced many schools and businesses to stay locked down as fear of escalation heightened.
Drivers who belong to the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) workers association were said to have opposed the daily extortion of N2, 000 from them by the thugs who also task trailers N3, 000.
Their protests, it was gathered, was borne out of the fact that they pay levies to NUPENG, other legitimate fees and felt over burdened by the extortion.
According to sources, the thugs who felt slighted by the driversโ refusal to continue such payment went berserk, pelting bottles and stones inside the NUPENG park.
Armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, they were said to have assaulted some of the drivers and threatened to chase them out of the park which they claimed belong to the monarch.
It was gathered several complaints and petitions have been written to the Commissioner of Police, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Zone II and the Federal Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) on activities of the thigs and the said monarch.
Satellite Town residents whose properties were being seized and destroyed by the hoodlums over refusal to pay certain amounts of money cried out recently.
A driver who spoke to reporters said they were tired of the โillegal activities of the monarchโ and were appealing to the authorities to step in.
โSo many drivers were injured. They were just throwing stones and bottles. They vandalised 10 trucks including those that had products in them. What would have happened if fire broke out as a result of their action?
โIt is not like we do not have boys to fight back but we do not want to take laws into our hands. We have written petitions to the police on several occasions on activities of the Oba and his boys but nothing has come out of it yet.
โMost of those things are not Nigerians and they have guns. Something has to be done urgently because we cannot allow the man claim ownership of our park and continue to task us N2, 000 daily,โ he said.
It was gathered that police operatives from Satellite Division battled all night to quell the situation but the thugs in their hundreds kept attacking from different fronts.
It was also learnt that Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu ordered deployment of reinforcements fro
It took the deployment of reinforcements from the Strike Force at the command headquarters to restore calm in the area yesterday afternoon, it was learnt.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Operations Mohammed Ali, five suspects have been arrested in connection with the clash and they would be moved to the command headquarters in line with the Commissionerโs directives.
He said the command would investigate the incident with a view to preventing a recurrence.
Assistant Zonal Secretary of NUPENG Akinlaja Adekunle told newsmen that the issue would be addressed on Thursday, adding that he was yet to be properly briefed on what transpired.
