A 37-year-old suspected cult member and armed robber, Azeez Ajayi (a.k.a Iyalaje) who claimed to be known with Ojora family were arrested with two Beretta Pistols and four ammunition by the Lagos Command Police Anti-Cultism Unit on Wednesday said he kept a gun in case of a street fight.
Azeez was arrested alongside one Omoyibo Ejovwoke; 26 of Ughelli North, Delta State at Ago Hausa Street Ajeromi, Ajegunle were two Baretta Pistols with three rounds of live ammunition were recovered from him. It was reliably gathered that Azeez who also claimed to be a member of NURTW and linked to the faction of Tajudeen Baruwa led by Adisa Ikudeti, in Ojora Apapa- Iganmu area of Lagos was arrested following a video of him brandishing the Beretta pistol at a party organised to celebrate the emergence of the newly elected National President of NURTW, Alh. Tajudeen Baruwa.
It was recalled that the party which took place on June 14 at Ijora 7-Up area ended with a clash which left one Yusuf Rilwan dead and many others injured. The suspect who also claimed to be related to the Ojora of Ijora land told newsmen that it was an auto engineer named Azeez at Ajegunle that showed him the gun on the floor and he picked it with the intention of throwing it away.
“I have been with the gun for six months but I don’t use it for anything. I am not a cultist, the mistake I made was that I didn’t take the gun to the police. I just kept it in case we start all this street fight in our area. “I am a member of the NURTW, there are two factions of the union now but I am with Baruwa caucus. Our Branch Chairman is Sharafadeen Okere.
“We had organised the party to celebrate our newly elected President. Although we didn’t get any approval from the Police and the Local Government and we are many at the open party that led to fracas on that fateful day. The party took place inside a garden. “When we were doing the party, the other faction found and we started bragging that the final result has not been declared and that they will later be the winner.
” We started stoning them broken bottles, the police later came around one Lukukmon Alabi, (a.k.a Luku Mobil) who was celebrating with us and leaving the other faction started stoning his car. “He came down and asked why they were stoning his car after they started fighting and he then drove away. In his reaction on the development, the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bala Elkana, said he had earlier issued a press statement that the incident was a rival clash between members of NURTW where many sustained injuries but no life was lost.
“The Command has directed the DPO to arrest all the members that appeared on the video because the command Will not tolerate any act of thurgery or hoodligalism,
” he said.
However, Oba Fatai Oyeyinka Aremu Aromire, the Ojora of Ijora land and the Iganmu Kingdom, Lagos told Our Correspondent that Azeez, the suspect is in no way a lineage of Ojora. “I know Azeez’s mother who is a daughter of Akindele bit Azeez’s father is not an Ojora. I will like to clear that issue of his father who is from Kwara State and therefore Azeez has no right to bear Ojora. “This is what I was just talking about that how will a woman allow her children to bear her father’s name instead of her husband’s name.
“Ask Azeez himself if his father is the son of Ojora. His mother’s father is Akindele, I am the son of Oyegbe so we are not from the same lineage. “I don’t know what he does for a living but he and some other boys are of bad character in the neighborhood. How will a responsible person be caught with a gun.
“You won’t see Ojora on my children’s name, they use my name. You won’t also see Ojora on my name because it is the name of the palace,”
he said.
