There was pandemonium in the Railway line area, Otto bus stop in the Oyingbo area of Lagos on Sunday when policemen engaged some hoodlums, said to be hiding some arms inside some brothels.
PUNCH Metro learnt that during the confrontation, where police reportedly exchanged gunfire with the hoodlums, residents and shop owners scampered for safety.
It was gathered that the hoodlums, who also belonged to cult groups, used the brothels along the Railway line as hideouts and relaxation centres in the evening.
Our correspondent, who visited the area on Tuesday, observed some wooden structures which were reportedly used by sex workers to attend to their customers.
A resident, Mr. Godfrey, who also has a shop along the Railway line, said, after the exchange of fire, the police arrested two of the hoodlums inside the brothels.
He said, “It was at about 5pm on Sunday. The thugs usually come to these brothels from as far as Ebute-Meta, Apapa, Ilogbo and other slums. The policemen, who came to apprehend them, were from the Denton division. They perhaps got information that some hoodlums were hiding in the brothels for another bout of violence.
“So, the police went to the place, and there was a gun battle. Two of the thugs were arrested. I think the police also found guns on them.”
A reliable source in the area told PUNCH Metro that the hoodlums also damaged a police patrol van during the pandemonium.
He added that on Tuesday morning, some of the thugs regrouped and attacked officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority in the area.
He said, “I was at the police station on Tuesday morning, and I saw a good number of the hoodlums who had been apprehended. Some of them might also be taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Ikeja. The hoodlums were led by a ring leader, simply called Dagbe.
“The clash on Sunday evening could have turned bloody, but the sex workers in the area made the policemen to soft-pedal so that innocent lives would not be lost in the shootout.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said he would get back to our correspondent on the matter. He, however, had yet to do so as of press time.
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