Lagos community, monarch want IGP to investigate shooting of Police Inspector

Residents of Ijora, Badia community of Lagos including the paramount ruler of the densely populated area, HRH Fatai Ojora have called on Inspector General of Police IGP, Mr Solomon Arase to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged shooting and wounding of a Police Inspector,
Mr. Ibrahim Odufarasin in the area.
The paramount ruler who is the Ojora of Lagos said the call became necessary so as to rid the community of hoodlums and urchins.
Speaking in his palace on Friday, the monarch alleged that the Inspector, was reported to be rushing home after alleged distress call that his house was on fire when he ran into a crowd of youth who were celebrating the birth of a baby by one of them named Murhi a.k.a Old School.
He said in the process there was sporadic shooting that led to the fatal wounding of the policeman. He wondered how the hoodlums turned around to accuse the Inspector of shooting them and urged Arase to investigate the case.
Also speaking in similar vein, the Community Development Association chairman in the area Mr. Saka Yusuf said the policeman who cheated death by the whiskers was shot by the hoodlums.
He revealed that out of the over 100 streets in Ijora, there is no street in the area where peace reigned until 2014 when Odufarasin and others came up with the idea of Idera-Ilu.
According to him, armed banditry, raping, cultism, looting of shops and vandalisation of vehicles in the area was the order of the day, but with the Odufarasin group, the situation has returned to normalcy”. He told our reporter that his Sienna vehicle with registration number GGE 141CA was among the over 50 vehicles that were vandalized by the Ijora hoodlums in 2014. He called on the top hierarchy of the Police to assist the community to clamp down on the few disgruntled elements operating in the community and also to properly investigate them. He argued that the hoodlums have turned around to accuse the Inspector of shooting at them.
However, a popular medical practitioner in Ijora Badia, Dr. Quadri Barakat, said Odufarasin’s problem with some of the youths in the area who are mostly hoodlums and street urchins (area boys) may not be unconnected with his desire to rid Ijora community of criminals.
According to Barakat, immediately Odufarasin was brought to the community in 2014, he formed a vigilante group with other well-meaning youths and Elders of the community to fish out criminals in the area. This, he said has not gone down well with the criminals and their parents.
The Medical Doctor confirmed that in 2014, no fewer than 50 vehicles were vandalized by the hoodlums in the area who equally looted several shops and killed three youths in the area.
“As soon as Odufarasin and his crime fighting partners formed a vigilant group called Idera- Ilu (peace and progress of the community), several suspected persons were arrested and prosecuted with no fewer than five persons now serving at the Ikoyi Prisons”.
Another leader in the area, Mr. James Abifari said “it used to be everyday attack on innocent persons and law abiding citizens by the criminals operating in Ijora Badia, but as soon as Idera-Ilu came into being, several arrests were made by the Police based on reports to them by members of the vigilante group. Again the criminal elements who want to continue to perpetrate their criminal acts have started to attack the Police.”
He further called on the Police in the state and the state government to as a matter of great urgency investigate the shooting of Inspector Odufarasin.