Before the last mayhem in Ajah, which reportedly started at a football pitch, scores of lives had been consumed and multimillion naira worth of property destroyed in the several clashes involving the warring factions.
The latest clash led to the arrest of a prominent chief in the town, who is also one of the people battling over who becomes the king of the town, Chief Fatai Olumegbon.
The battle over who becomes the oba of the town has worsened the cat and mouse relationship that had existed among the Ajah indigenes, the Olumegbons and the Ilaje settlers. The Ajah people are insisting that their Baale must be upgraded to become an oba; Olumegbon insisted on his right to the throne as the Olori Idejo, while the Ilajes are also claiming ownership of a large portion of the land as a result of their long years of existence on the land.
The residents, however, blamed the state government for not coming out with a White Paper, after a panel was set up in 2004 on the crisis. They specifically accused the state government, a former governor in the state and a foremost traditional ruler of fanning the ember of crisis in Ajah.
The indigenes, the Ajah people, are cut between the settlers – the Ilaje people and their overlord, the Olumegbons. The three factions have been at war with one another for the control of public places in the town, and have formed their youth groups with which they wage war against one another.
Investigations by the Saturday Tribune revealed that the last Saturday’s clash started about three days before the incident, when two groups clashed at the Eti-Osa Ultra Modern Market, Ajah, and used the opportunity to loot.
A resident of the area, who simply identified himself as Femi, told the Saturday Tribune: “More than 100 people would have been killed if the clash had occurred on a work day.”
According to him, the whole trouble started at a football pitch, very close to the Ajah roundabout, when Ajah youths were playing football and some people they recognised as ‘Olumegbon Boys’ invaded the pitch. He said there were two reports on the invasion of the pitch by the Olumegbon Boys.
“They told us two things. Some of them told us that the Olumegbon Boys wanted to kidnap one of the boys on the field, after accusing him of supporting the Ajah youth against the Olumegbon Boys. We also heard that the Olumegbon Boys got to the field and ordered the Ajah Boys to leave the place,” he said.
According to him, the Ajah youth mobilised and engaged the Olumegbon Boys in a clash in which stools, chairs and iron rods were freely used by both groups. One of the Olumegbon Boys sustained serious injuries.
“The Ajah boys injured one of the Olumegbon Boys, and when their leaders at the palace heard what happened, they mobilised and moved to the Ajah Boys’ territory. When they got to Alesh Hotel, they saw one of the Ajah Boys, simply identified as Osanle, and shot him.” Femi narrated.
The alleged invasion of the Ajah territory by the Olumegbon Boys elicited instant reaction from the Ajah Boys and a full blown war ensued which reportedly led to the death of no fewer than nine members of the two factions and another three persons from the Ilaje group (which joined in the attack against the Ajah Boys). Sophisticated weapons and ammunition as well as charms were freely used by all the parties.
“There was serious exchange of gunfire between the Olumegbon Boys and the Ajah Boys. The Ilaje Boys, who have for a long time been having a battle with the Ajah people, also took the opportunity of the clash to attack the Ajah Boys. Five people were killed among the Olumegbon Boys, four from the camp of the Ajah youths and three from the Ilaje settlers, “ he told Saturday Tribune.
The Olumegbon Boys consist of street urchins from the Lagos Island, the Ajah youths comprises hoodlums from families of indigenes of the town, supported by non-indigenes of the state, while the Ilaje boys are settlers in the riverine area of the community.
According to the residents, the roundabout area and some metres away from there belong to the Olumegbon Boys, while the Ajah youth own the territory between the Olumegbon boundary and the Ilaje boundary.
The situation in the Lagos community is so bad that any member of any of the three factions that strays into the rival territory should count himself lucky if he escapes alive. Members of the rival groups are routinely kidnapped with impunity.
Another resident of Ajah, who identified himself as Tunde, told the Saturday Tribune that innocent people, especially traders at the market, are always at the receiving end of most clashes in the area.
Chief Adisa Oloriodo Ojupon, the Oloriebi of Ojupon chieftaincy family in Ajah, told Saturday Tribune that the crisis in the town dated back to 2003, when an overlord was allegedly imposed on the people of the town.
According to the Ajah chief, the crisis in the past emanated from disagreement over the control of Ajah and collection of levies. He noted that the Ajah youth and the Olumegbon Boys had on several occasions been engaged in bloody clashes over territorial control of Ajah.
He wondered why the report of the panel set up by the state government on the crisis had not yet been released. He called on the state government to release the White Paper on the crisis.
“It is by so doing that everybody will know his or her rightful position. The panel was set up during the tenure of (former governor) Bola Tinubu, and all the 42 families in Ajah were invited. The government should save us and release the White Paper on the crisis,” Chief Ojupon pleaded.
The Babaloja of Epe, Alhaji Rasak Odunlami, while speaking on the same incident, appealed to the state government to find a lasting solution to the recurring crisis in Ajah, stating that economic activities in the town had suffered seriously from the activities of the hoodlums.
“They just take advantage of the crisis to loot our market. They have the contacts of all their members. Whenever they want to loot, they just ignite crisis and before you know it, they have begun to steal from shops,” Odunlami said.
When the Saturday Tribune visited Ajah on Wednesday, an Armoured Personnel Carrier and a team of anti-riot policemen had been drafted to the town. Some policemen were stationed at the Ajah roundabout, while others were seen around the Olumegbon palace.
The image maker in charge of the state police command, Ngozi Braide, while speaking on the crisis in Ajah, stated that the police had restored normalcy in Ajah and that several people had been arrested in connection with the latest crisis.
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