Residents and homeowners in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State have started fleeing their homes out of the fear of becoming casualties to the rising threat of the killer-cult group known as Badoo.
The fleeing residents, who are afraid of being the next victims of the deadly gang, have been moving in with relatives and friends in relatively safer parts of Lagos.
Considering that the gang had killed no fewer than 29 persons and injured several others in the last few months, it was perfectly understandable that the residents made efforts to secure their lives.
The PUNCH reports that individuals and families in different parts of the town were moving out with some of their personal items to find safety elsewhere.
A woman named Yemisi had indicated that the deadly group had written a letter to their neighbourhood that it would soon visit the place, so she had to move for the safety of her children as her husband is not stateside and the area is not safe.
She said, “For the past five days, we have not slept at night at Ori-Okuta because of the fear of Badoo. They wrote a letter and pasted the copies at strategic places in the neighbourhood, informing us of their imminent visit. Nobody has had peace since then.
“My husband is not in Lagos for now, so I cannot afford to take chances with the safety of my children and I.”
Another woman, Mrs. Janet Ogunwale, who was also spotted carrying a bag on her head with her little daughter strapped to her back at the Agric Bus stop, Ikorodu, on Wednesday afternoon, told the PUNCH that almost everybody in the compound at Ori-Okuta had fled for fear of being attacked by Badoo.
She said, “Ori-Okuta is almost a ghost town now. Since words went round that Badoo had written a letter to inform residents that they were coming soon, everybody has been living in fear. Nobody sleeps comfortably at night anymore.
“It is not as if there are no more people in the area, but the number has drastically reduced since news of the letter got round. Though my landlord tried to allay my fears, I had made up my mind to leave as many of our neighbours had moved out already.”
The fear of the killer-cult group has also hit residents of other communities in Ikorodu like Odogunyan, Igbogbo, Ebutte, Ibeshe and Ogijo, some of who have also been fleeing their houses to take refuge with relatives and friends in other places.
A community development association head in the Odogunyan area of the town, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told one of our correspondents that apart from the tenants, many landlords and their families had moved to other parts of Lagos where they have houses.
He said with the spate of killings perpetrated by the gang in recent days and the failure of security agencies to check their nefarious activities, everybody in the town was living in fear.
He said, “The issue of Badoo is no longer a joking matter and that is why everywhere you go in Ikorodu today, people are doing all they can to improve security around their immediate surroundings.
“In Odogunyan here, I know at least three landlords who have locked their buildings and relocated with their families to other parts of Lagos where they have houses. Many people are moving to areas they consider safe.