For daring to raid their hideouts, some suspected drug addicts in Ilorin, Kwara State invaded the residence of two officials of Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency, burning and looting their properties, with three people losing their lives in the melee.

Operatives of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kwara State on Friday April 24, 2015 as part of their routine operation to rid the state of drugs, stormed a hideout of suspected Indian hemp smokers at Idi Ape quarters of Ilorin, the state capital to dislodge the drug addicts.

It was a successful operation by the NDLEA, but the fallout of the raid could not have been imagined. A day after the raid, the hoodlums, irked by the action of the government agency, launched a reprisal attack on the family of two NDLEA operatives identified as being part of the team that raided the hideout.

In an attack described by residents and victims as an “invasion,” the hoodlums razed the residence of the two NDLEA operatives identified as Olatunji Hanafi and Abdullateef Akebiore of Eleku compound, Agbarere Quarters of Ilorin. The two men of the NDLEA have their family houses and those of other neighbours completely razed by the thugs, who allegedly used petrol and other dangerous objects to render them homeless. 

Prior to the operation of the NDLEA, Daily Trust gathered that some places in Ilorin have been identified as hideouts, where suspected drug dealers engage in transactions of different harmful drugs.

Although operatives of the NDLEA had smashed the notorious spots in the past in a bid to curb drug addiction in Ilorin and its environs,  given its danger to the wellbeing of the people, the last operation left a sore reminder for the two officials attacked. Their compound was not only totally razed; valuables were looted , while vehicles were destroyed in an attack which lasted for over five hours. The hoodlums were led by a ring leader, who is reported to be on the run and a manhunt has been launched for him.

In the ensuing fracas, guns and machetes-wielding thugs went on a shooting spree, destroying properties on sight. The destruction lasted for several hours before armed security men arrived to engage the hoodlums in a gun duel.

A family member of the victims, Mr Abdulsalam Abdulrahaman, described the destruction as terrible. He expressed astonishment that NDLEA men who went on lawful duty could be brazenly attacked.

Abdulrahaman, who alleged that he saw the ring leader wielding two guns during the fracas, said justice must be done. 

“There is one of my brothers working with NDLEA. And I was told that the NDLEA officers raided the people that used to smoke dangerous substances at Idi-Ape, and later people from Idi-Ape carried guns down to this place (Agbarere) and began to burn houses. Unfortunately, police men did not arrive on time to stop the rampaging hoodlums”.

Also speaking, one of the victims whose car was badly damaged,  charged security agencies to do a thorough probe into the attacks ,and ensure the perpetrators were brought to book. He noted that the destruction carried out by the arsonists also rendered several people homeless. In all, six houses were razed while 58 vehicles were destroyed.

Many stakeholders berated the act of lawlessness and criminality allegedly demonstrated by the hoodlums, just as they tasked  security operatives to ensure that the perpetrators did not go scot-free.

The Ilorin Emirate community is especially disturbed by  the high rate of youth restiveness in the ancient city. According to the National President of Ilorin Emirate Descendants’ Progressive Union (IEDPU), Alhaji Abdulhamid  Adi, the attack at Agbarere could be likened to a  Boko Haram invasion. He said the police must spare no effort at  bringing  the attackers to book.  

Reacting to the incident, the IEDPU which is the apex socio-cultural organisation of Ilorin Emirate indigenes at home and abroad, said it is high time government and security agencies rounded up the hoodlums terrorizing the state.

The President in a chat with our correspondent , noted that he almost shed tears when he visited the scene of the unrest, saying residents of the area had been internally displaced and needed assistance from the government.   

He said, “We are appealing to the government that  they should round up those boys, mop up all arms and ammunitions they are holding,  and make sure arrests are made. It is a terrible situation. This is the stand of the union. I visited the place on Sunday and  I was almost crying. It is just like a house that has just been invaded by Boko Haram. They burnt their houses; they destroyed their properties and carted  their properties away in broad day light... All those people (victims) now are internally displaced. They have no place to sleep due to no fault of theirs. So ,we are appealing to the government to make sure  that these boys are arrested.”

Following the attacks, the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed convened a Security Council meeting , where an anti-thuggery task force was set up to arrest the perpetrators of the attacks, and other suspected thugs terrorizing residents of Ilorin.

It was however gathered that a combined team of security agencies like the Army, police, and  other units therefore began the special operation to round up the attackers in solidarity with the NDLEA. The operation, according to a security source, was “to serve as deterrent to other would-be hoodlums who may want to show similar effrontery to attack security operatives for carrying out their lawful duties”. In the course of the mop up operation during which soldiers and other armed security men displayed  a show of force, blaring their sirens in  various parts of Ilorin metropolis, over 200 suspects were rounded up according to the police public relations officer, Mr. Okasanmi  Ajayi. The operation was still ongoing as at the time of filing this report , while efforts were being made to capture the ring leader of the hoodlums. Besides, some of the suspects have started appearing in courts in Ilorin while some have been remanded.     

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed during a meeting with some traditional rulers in the Emirate ,stressed that his administration would not tolerate acts of criminality by street urchins.

He said his administration has set up an enlightenment committee on how to end thuggery, while an empowerment scheme would be instituted for the transformation of the youths to be responsible citizens.

The Governor added that those with criminal tendencies should realize that the campaigns and elections were over, and purposeful governance has taken the centre stage again. “We will ensure that criminality is not given any room in the State. If anybody under any guise is found wanting, he will be brought to book”, he said.

Former governor of the state, Senator Bukola Saraki also came to the rescue of the victims by doling out the sum of N3.5m to relieve them. Besides, Saraki who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, visited the affected areas last Sunday, where he condemned the violence unleashed on the people. He warned troublemakers not to disrupt the peace and harmony in the state, saying the state is widely known for peace and harmony.

Stakeholders say it is high time government frontally addressed the problem of youth restiveness, through massive job creation and empowerment of able-bodied youths roaming the streets, because a stitch in time saves nine.