Human head causes panic, gridlock on Lagos road

There was panic at Olokodana Junction on the Old Apapa Road, in the Oyingbo area of Lagos State after residents and passersby found a severed head by the roadside.

Our corsrespondent gathered that the head was dropped at the junction at about 8pm on Tuesday by unidentified persons.

It was learnt that residents and pedestrians gathered round the head and tried in vain to find out the identity of the deceased.

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The situation was said to have caused gridlock for over one hour as some motorists also joined the onlookers. Some of the people were said to have put calls across to the Iponri Police Division.

Some residents told our correspondent that at about 7.30pm on Tuesday, two tricycles, aka Keke Marwa, had parked at the junction, and a man had alighted from one of them.
The man, whose identity had yet to be established, reportedly dropped the head by the roadside, before he and the tricycles’ riders sped off.

When our correspondent visited the area on Wednesday, a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the victim’s right eye had also been gouged out.
He added that while nobody had yet to know the identity of the deceased, it was believed that he was a member of the Fagbayimu boys ─ one of the notorious gangs in the area.
He said, “I was coming from the mosque at about 8pm when I noticed a large crowd at the junction. When I moved closer, I saw that the subject of attention was a fresh human head. The man had a low cut and his right eye had been removed. It was dropped near the shops of some women selling soft drinks and noodles.
“A church was opposite the scene, but the members were not holding a service. People were taking photographs, while some called the police. Nobody knew the name or address of the owner of the head.”

A shop owner, who also declined to give her name, said when the two tricycles parked briefly at the junction, deep voices, suspected to be the killers, instructed the man who got down to drop the head.
She added that policemen from the Iponri division later came at about 9pm to remove the head.

“Some voices inside the tricycles were saying, ‘Gbee le, gbee le’ (drop it). That was how the man dropped the item. We did not know it was a human head then; it was later that we discovered that it was a severed head. Policemen from Iponri division came to take it away,” she said.

A resident of Thomas Street, who identified himself simply as Sola, said the head might have been dropped by Otto boys.
He added that the gang came to his street on Friday to stab a man, believed to be a member of a rival gang, to death.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joe Offor, confirmed the incident. He said the police had dropped the head in a morgue, and were searching for the body of the man.

The PRO added that the police had launched a manhunt for the killers.
He said, “The police found the head and we have taken it to a morgue. We do not have the identity of the man yet, but we are also looking for his remaining body. The police will ensure that the hoodlums, who beheaded the man, are arrested and prosecuted.”

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