The Lagos State Police Command has restored peace and order to the Owode Onirin area of Lagos following a violent clash between traders and suspected land grabbers that left three people dead and a police officer critically injured.
According to the Command, the unrest, which disrupted public peace and blocked major roads leading in and out of the Owode Onirin Market, prompted swift intervention by Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh.
He personally led a combined team of officers from the Operations Department, Mobile Police Force, Rapid Response Squad, tactical units, and detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to the scene, reopening the roads to traffic and restoring normalcy.
To prevent a resurgence, the Police said adequate personnel remain deployed in the area.
During the confrontation, three individuals were fatally injured and confirmed dead at the hospital, while a police inspector sustained life-threatening injuries and is currently receiving treatment.
Preliminary investigations have linked the clash to one Abiodun Ariori, CEO of Prosperous Ariori Golden Venture Limited, who has since been declared wanted by the Command.
The Police stated that Ariori, whose last known address is in Egbeda, has evaded arrest and urged members of the public to provide information on his whereabouts or report to the nearest police station.
Meanwhile, four policemen alleged to have accompanied the suspect illegally from outside Lagos have been detained at the Command headquarters for orderly room trial. The outcome of their trial, according to police authorities, will be made public.
In a separate incident on Lagos Island, the Police dispelled reports of a tribal clash at Balogun Market.
The Command clarified that the violence was a fight between hoodlums in which Ebuka Adindu, from Abia State, allegedly stabbed Sodiq Ibrahim, from Kogi State, to death before turning the knife on himself.
Adindu is currently under police custody while receiving treatment in hospital and will face prosecution upon recovery.
The Police emphasized that the disturbance was not ethnically motivated and that no goods or properties belonging to traders were destroyed.
“Normalcy has been restored, and marketers as well as members of the public are encouraged to go about their lawful businesses without fear,” the Command said in a statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin.
Commissioner Jimoh also appealed to residents to remain law-abiding and cooperate with the Police to sustain peace across Lagos State.