Two die as thugs destroy cars, houses in Ilorin

Cars and buildings vandalised by youths in Ilorin, Kwara State … on SaturdayTwo unnamed persons died in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Saturday as hoodlums went on rampage destroying houses and cars.The thugs also reportedly attacked the residence of the Kwara State Commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr. Reuben Appiah.Eight of the hoodlums armed with dangerous objects were said to have also disrupted a court session at Oja-Oba area of the state.Some of the protesting youths were said to be protesting against the closure of roads during the monthly sanitation exercise.They razed shops, houses and property worth millions of naira. Two accounts were given for the cause ofthe pandemonium.The Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ajayi Okesanmi, said trouble started when some youths at Ojo-Oba saw an official of the NDLEA who was among the team that arrested some miscreants suspected to be involved in illicit drug.He stated that the miscreants attacked the unnamed NDLEA official who later escaped and ran to a nearby police station for safety.Okesanmi said, “The mayhem was as a result of a problem between the NDLEA and some suspected drugusers in that area. That was what caused the crisis but the police came and rescued the NDLEA officer and we tried to control the miscreants there.“Some houses have been attacked. We have arrested some people. I can confirm that two people died. They attacked anything in sight. They did not identify any special place to attack. They were just attacking. The crisis was caused by the claim that officials of the NDLEA arrested one of them in the past.“The hoodlums on Saturday sighted one of the NDLEA officers that was involved in the arrest in that area.He ran to police station and police tried to rescue him. The hoodlums became annoyed and started attacking houses and people.”Another version of what cause the destruction had it that some hoodlums protested the enforcement of the restriction of movement by law enforcement agents during the monthly environment sanitation.Our correspondent gathered that the mobile courts’ presiding judges and sanitation officers fled when theangry youths besieged the court.An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity for fear of attack said trouble started when a police man allegedly arrested a commercial motorcycle rider at Ojo-Oba for flouting the movement restriction order.The source said the rider is a member of the gang led by one Ariyo.The eyewitness said the police officer refused to accede to the pleadings of the motorcyclist to allow him go even as he claimed that the motorcycle belonged to Ariyo.The hoodlums were said to have heard of the arrest of the motorcyclist and mobilised themselves to destroy property and attack people.It was gathered that the miscreants included ladies and they shot sporadically into the air to scare peoplewho scampered to safety.They were said to have used clay pots to cover their heads while they unleashed terror on passers-by.SUNDAY PUNCHlearnt that security operatives were later drafted to restore normalcy while fire-fighters from the state fire service battled to quench fire on the property set ablaze.Another source said the chaos was caused by the alleged refusal of the task force official attached to the mobile court in Ipata area to allow health workers to immunise children in the area even after they properly identified themselves.The action of the enforcement officer was said to have angered some youths who reportedly attacked the officer and other mobile court and sanitation personnel.Meanwhile, 36 people were said to have been arrested and arraigned at different mobile courts in Ilorin for committing various environmental offences.