Many residents of Lagos had a sour taste of the activities of hoodlums who took over some parts of the popular Oshodi area of the state on Thursday morning.
Most of those who fell victims were either on their way to work or business.
The hoodlums, armed with dangerous weapons including guns, axes, matchetes and knives and bottles, first assembled at the Charity area of Oshodi before they began their campaign of terror on whoever was within sight.
At the time of this report, the thugs had clashed with a team of the Nigeria Police Force and some soldiers drafted to the affected area.
Witnesses told Huhuonline.com that the thugs, allegedly loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, decided to unleash mayhem so as to stop a rally being organised by a coalition of groups in support of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The witnesses added that many of the thugs are members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) which also recently held parts of Lagos hostage for hours in a protest to demand the removal of Professor Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from office before the elections.
However, this was denied by a member in the Gani Adams faction of the militia group.
The reign of terror in Oshodi on Thursday morning resulted in chaos as people scampered for safety. Many traders left their shops as the hoodlums attacked and looted the shops.
Motorists also ran from the scene and there were incidents of multiple accidents as cars rammed into one another.
The police in the state said they had earlier arrested some known thugs in the area as the law enforcement agency said it got wind of a possible unrest on Wednesday.
A leader of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, Musiliu Akinsanya, told journalists through a statement that the mayhem was caused by thugs loyal to the PDP.
“I find it very imperative and urgent to quickly send this message to update you about the cruel, gangsterism, uncivil and very absurd conduct of the PDP thugs in Oshodi this morning.
“We woke up to find these desperate hoodlums shooting, looting and vandalising people’s property. They were led by Essy Oluwo and co.
“I just sincerely want to bring this to the consciousness of the populace that these hoodlums would do anything to bring both my name and that of our great party, APC, to the muds.
I want to state that nobody has a monopoly of violence, but my love for my people and that of Oshodi is uppermost in my mind.
“I have instructed my followers and good people of Oshodi to be calm, since the Nigeria Police has come in to calm the situation.
“I request that Nigerian press should do an independent investigation in Oshodi to find out and confirm the situation as I will not allow my name to be dragged into this as they earlier did,” read the statement, by the NURTW leader who is also a member of the APC.
