A Mobile Police officer, Tajudeen Sodiq, one of those deployed to the
Pankere Village in Idasho community by businessman, Aliko Dangote, has
provided confirmation they have the orders of the wealthy businessman to
“clear” out the villagers for his refinery project, telling the
displaced villagers of the nature of their instructions after chasing
them out.
Some of the women who were molested by the policemen yesterday were taken to a hidden place and beaten with nail-tacked clubs.
“They
said they would not shoot gun at us because it may not penetrate. So
they tacked nails on woods and beat us mercilessly,” said one woman who
was released by the policemen last night.
One of the injured victims
Two other women taken away by the policemen had still not been found as at press time.
Policemen
from the local station had defied Mr. Dangote’s call to carry out the
“clearing” away of people, pointing out that the disputed land was in
court. However, the residents say some of the new policemen who told
them they were invading at the demand of Mr. Dangote, are from the Lagos
Police Command, apparently obliging the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde
Fashola.
One of the bulldozers
Curiously,
the residents also said they recognized some of the new “policemen” who
arrived at the village today as touts from the area town. They said
they were shocked to see well-known touts wearing police uniforms and
entering the village to clear out any residents who may want to return
to their homes. This suggests that even deeper under-handed methods are
being employed by the businessman and the governor in the effort to
appropriate the land.
“Presently, we are homeless and we are just
squatting. We want to go back to our homes but the policemen are
threatening to kill us at sight,” the homeless villagers said.
A few weeks ago, policemen fired shots into a house and injured an old man as they chased the residents out of their homes.
Governor
Fashola had threatened to deal with the villagers without compensation
if they resisted his quit order. Fashola and Dangote are accused of
shunning court processes, refusing to wait for the suit in court over
the disputed land to be disposed of.
Although Mr. Dangote claims he
had paid to take over the village, the villagers, including their
chiefs, said they were not contacted or paid by anyone for their land
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