I live in a country where committing a crime means nothing anymore, some people believe that the worse that can happen is been arrested and with money, they can find their way out easily. A lot of people indulge in different terrible acts because of many unjustified reasons and to make things worse, the people who are meant to enforce the law aren't helping matters at all.
It is not shocking to many Nigerians anymore when they say a law enforcement agency commits an atrocity, the fear of the law is no longer in the heart of the people.
I started witnessing serious crime scenes as a kid and it made me realize early that I wasn't in the safe part of the world. Between the age of 5 and 7, I experienced two severe robbery incidents, one was so severe that I and my sibling almost lost our lives while returning from school. That day, a lot of people died at Abuts Egba and it was really a terrible experience for adults not to even mention the kids who got caught up in the crossfire.
I have experienced different crime scenes as an adult, you definitely can't avoid seeing these things if you go out every day in Lagos.
I was returning from Ikeja in 2014 where I worked as a supervisor for a marketing team. I alighted at the popular Ilepo bus stop and noticed the market was closed around 4 pm.
It is very unusual so I paid attention to the environment before proceeding. I started walking through the market to get a tricycle that will take me to my neighborhood and I was only a few blocks away from the bus stop when I heard gunshots.
Immediately, I knew something wasn't right so I stopped and went down to avoid being hit by a stray bullet.
My eyes were fixed on the road and I was pondering whether to continue or return to the bus stop when some armed men came out from the main market to the road. They had guns, machetes, and fetish things tied to their body.
I wished I could disappear from that scene but it was impossible. I looked back and also saw guys with machetes, axes, and other kinds of stuff. I started praying in my heart for God's protection because there was no escape route.
The thought of what could be happening kept ringing in my head but I couldn't figure out anything.
The market road had two lanes so I crossed to the other side with my heart in my hand. I was shivering and sweating profusely as I crossed, the thugs only occupied one lane and it seem they had targets.
After crossing, I didn't know whether to run up the road or back. Those thugs stood their ground but were shouting, shooting, and throwing bottles, it became clear that it was a clash between two groups and they had nothing to do with passersby but yet, I wasn't too sure.
A woman who was hiding with her twin behind a fallen shop extension came out and begged me to help carry one of her kids because she couldn't move fast with them and the bag she was carrying was huge.
I couldn't turn her down, I carried the girl and the big bag she had. We couldn't run so we walked as fast as we could.
We walked passed a school at the end of the market and the security who was a Hausa guy called us back. He said we should hide in the school for a while because those thugs are scattered everywhere and have killed since they started. While some were busy killing each other, some groups were breaking into people's shops.
We hid there for about an hour and left when the road was clear, we walked for about another 30 minutes before we could get a tricycle. We left the place and the tricycle rider explained that the clash was about two groups fighting for power at that bus stop.
The strongest would gain authority after everything and he also mentioned that they have killed each other and a woman who was hit by a stray bullet earlier.
I felt sad because of the innocent people who must have met their end while running for safety.
You must be wondering why no one called the police, I know it was the right thing to do but I didn't do it as well because there is a police station in the market but the officers were nowhere to be found.
Even the police absconded and that's understandable everyone is trying to stay alive.
The next day, I didn't bother passing through the market but I heard the information that some soldiers were deployed there and they handled things well but that wouldn't bring back the soul of people who lost their lives, restore the goods that were looted from people's shops or amend the damaged properties.
Justice will never be served because the soldiers were there to maintain order and once their job was done, they will be gone. If those thugs were truly apprehended, such an occurrence wouldn't happen again but it did and at that time, I only heard the news.
Rumor has it that those guys were political thugs and whether they are apprehended or not, they will be released again when needed.