Hoodlums and End SARS protesters have clashed at Ogolonto roundabout, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
It was gathered that the hoodlums, comprising of Ogolonto Boys and Idiroko Boys, fought themselves with cutlasses, axes, stones, and bottles and robbed unsuspecting members of the public of their valuables.
An eyewitness, Bolaji told PUNCH that the clash had been ongoing since Friday and usually happens between 7am to 10am.
Another eyewitness, who identified himself as Adigun, said, “The hoodlums have been robbing people of their phones and other valuables. They don’t want anybody to record the clash. When commercial drivers get to Ogolonto, they usually disembark passengers from their vehicles and turn back so that their vehicles won’t be destroyed.”
As of the time of filing this report, stranded passengers had to stay in people’s houses, shops, and commercial centres to escape being attacked.
Broken bottles had littered the roundabout at Ogolonto in Ikorodu.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said, “The problem is not group versus group, protesters were there yesterday (Saturday), they barricaded the road, the tension was high and there was no movement.
“According to our investigation, around 6.30 pm yesterday (Saturday), they started fighting, breaking vehicle windscreens, burgling shops at Ogolonto and they left.
“When they started coming this morning for the protest at Ogolonto, those whose property were damaged yesterday (Saturday) defended their property and insisted that there will be no protest. So, it became confrontational and that is what led to the issue this morning.
“We cannot separate those fighting from the protesters because the protesters are many and everybody is now a protester; and the protest has been hijacked. The Area Commander is there with some Divisional Police Officers and they are trying to persuade them.”