- The conversation surrounding the forceful evacuation of some people believed to be indigenes of Osun state in Lagos has continued to generate reactions in the polity
- In a recent development, some of the victims allegedly picked by the Lagos taskforce have made a jaw-dropping revelation regarding their ordeal in the hands of the government officials
- As Babajide Sanwo-Olu vows to investigate the trending matter, the victims alleged that they were arrested and they found themselves in Osun state
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
A new report has it that some victims have narrated how the officials of the Lagos state taskforce threatened to kill them in Osun Forest.
Photo credit: Ademola Adeleke, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Source: Facebook
This is after they were allegedly arrested in the Marina area of the state and later dumped at the forest in Ilesha, Osun state, on Saturday, May 4.
Recall that the Lagos state government led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday, May 1, said it discovered 86 partitioned rooms, sized 10×10 and 12×10, under the Dolphin Estate Bridge, Ikoyi, on Lagos Island.
The government therefore vowed to clamp down on miscreants across the state following its ongoing operation to tackle the security risk in Lagos caused by the influx of miscreants, beggars, and the destitute in different parts of the state.
According to the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said some suspects were arrested under the Dolphin Bridge, and some pleaded for assistance to relocate to their various hometowns, while others were in rehabilitation due to their medical state.
Victims alleged threat to life by Lagos task force
Speaking on the development, the victims claimed they escaped from the Ilesha forest and that they were arrested without proper investigation.
In an interview with The Punch, on Sunday, May 5, the victims claimed they found themselves in Osun, where they were threatened with being killed if they refused to cooperate with them.
While recounting their ordeals, they disclosed that that they were numbering about 500, including people living with disabilities, jam-packed in cramped conditions inside the chartered bus provided by the state government to the forest.
One of the victims, a phone accessories seller at the Marina area of Lagos, Miracle Chukwu, claimed he was not allowed to speak before being pushed into the bus and that the officials threatened to shoot anyone who disobeyed them in the forest.
“I was coming back from where I was selling phone accessories at the CMS area around 11 a.m., so some task force officials and police officers stopped me and forced me into their Black Maria vehicle. They beat me up and collected my bag,” Chukwu narrated.
Arius Awodeji, a job seeker and a Lagos resident, disclosed that they were deceived into thinking they were heading to Ikeja to see the governor but surprisingly found themselves in the forest.
“They instructed everyone to alight and run into the bush without looking back,” Awodeji said.
Peter Obi reacts to alleged ‘deportation’ of Osun youths
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Peter Obi, the flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, condemned the alleged deportation of Osun indigenes from Lagos state.
Obi, in a series of posts shared on his X account, on Monday May 6, described the alleged deportation as a “violation of citizens’ rights”.
Source: Legit.ng
