Ikorodu, a city in the North-east of Lagos State, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons. Following the recent killings especially the murder of a family of four by suspected members of alleged cult group known as the Badoo, the sleepy town has become more popular than it bargained for. Albeit, the stories not very pleasant one.
Residents of Ikorodu in Lagos state have declared war on Badoo cult by taking laws into their hands in the form of jungle justice. For residents and non residents alike, the fear of mistaken identity, which may lead to a gruesome death, is worse than the fear of Badoo itself.
The residents no longer sleep with two eyes closed as a result of the activities of the dreaded Badoo cult boys who have been terrorizing the area of recent. They are so deadly that they don’t discriminate when they unleash mayhem on the residents. Sadly enough, women and children have fallen victims to the ‘bad’ boys.
Who are these boys? What do they want? These are questions The Next Edition asked residents when it took a trip to Ikorodu, the centre of the Badoo cult.
A few years ago, it was some people suspected to be Niger Delta militants terrorising the area. Today, the Badoo boys have taken over. This group of killers has nothing to do with the social network called Badoo. The word Badoo, is a street slang used to hail someone who is a ‘bad guy’ meaning street smart. Youth restiveness has been identified as one of the major reasons behind this group’s vicious attacks as most of them are believed to be in their 20s.
They attack their victims at night in the most vicious way, making use of huge stones like the ones used for grinding pepper to hit their victims on the head and watch them die. That’s not all. They rub the blood of the victim on a white handkerchief and sell the bloodied handkerchief for N500, 000 and above, according to reports.
Expressing fears over what is going on in his place of abode, a bus conductor in an interview with The Next Edition said “This killing is purely for ritual purposes. One of them confessed that he was selling the handkerchief for N500, 000,” adding “I’m looking for a way to relocate. I don’t want to be killed by Badoo.”
The National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams in an interview revealed that “Most of the people involved in the Badoo cult group are ritualists,” he said, adding “They use stones and big sticks to kill their victims. After that, they remove some parts of the body. They also use white handkerchiefs to take the victims’ blood. Those white handkerchiefs are taken to their godfathers.”
Several myths are woven around them. It is also reported that they rub oil on their bodies so that when they are grabbed by anyone during an operation, they are able to slip away.
At the roundabout of Sabo market, which is the Ikorodu main market, burnt tyres were seen on the ground. The tyres, it was learnt were burnt in the night as a way of showing the Badoo boys that the community was at red alert. As rowdy as the market was, there were people watching passersby for strange movements. Once the community watchers notice people wandering about or strange movements, they would accost them.
Wandering in the night has become a serious offence with severe implication. as it was the case of 26 years old, Chinedu, an upcoming comedian who was mistaken for a Badoo member and beaten and burnt to death.
One of the residents of First Gate, Ikorodu Jamiu Ayinde, told us that taking laws into their hands was the only way to strike fear into the hearts of Badoo because “policemen have failed to protect us,” adding, “It is unfortunate that an innocent man was killed in the name of Badoo. The truth of the matter is that the policemen aren’t doing enough to protect us.
All what you have been reading in the papers are lies. Look around, can you see policemen around? We are on our own.”
Unfortunately, many residents share Ayinde’s view on jungle justice. An elderly man, who refused to mention his name but simply gave his name as Pastor, commended the efforts of the youths in the area.
According to him, the youths have done more in securing the environment than the security agencies. “If not for the vigilance of the youths, these Badoo would have attacked more people,” he said. When asked how he would about the innocent people who could be victims of the vigilante’s overzealousness, he said, “that is why everyone should be careful. You shouldn’t be caught moving about at odd hours. That man that was killed was outside at the wrong time. What was he doing outside by 11pm knowing full well that he could be seen as a Badoo member?”
The Friday sermon in the Ogbara central Mosque Sabo market Ikorodu was all about Badoo. The chief Imam spoke to the congregation on the need for members to be vigilant in order to protect themselves.
After the prayer, our correspondent walked to the Imam to ask him questions about the measures they have put in place in order to prevent such from happening in the mosque, since there was an attack in a church last week.
The Imam refused to talk, referring our correspondent to the Seriki Hausa, Alhaji Mohammed Shittu, who is the leader of the entire Hausa community in Ikorodu. Speaking with The Next Edition, Alhaji Shittu said “I am very well aware of Badoo. Anyone living in this area is aware of the activities of Badoo. If you were around during the Jummah service, you would have heard the Imam advising youths not to wander aimlessly at night so as not to be mistaken as one of them. We are also working with the police and the OPC to ensure that these people don’t carry out their attacks again.”
In the same vein, the Arewa Youth leader of Ikorodu, Alhaji Saddam Sani, told us that churches and mosques have come together to preach against Badoo. “We met with Christian leaders in the community including policemen on how to work together against Badoo. We have advised our youths to be more decent in their appearance so that they wouldn’t be picked up by security agents. We told them to barb their hair low. They should dress neat and those with ID cards should always carry them. If you dress responsibly, the question of mistaken identity wouldn’t arise.”
In Ikorodu, the fear of jungle justice and badoo boys, is the beginning of wisdom. In all of this, what seems to be the utmost concern of residents and those visiting Ikorodu is to dress responsibly and avoid moving around during odd hours so as not to be mistaken for a Badoo member.
The residents are optimistic that the activities of the bad boys of Ikorodu would be checked. Security agents also need to wake up to their responsibility before it gets messier and residents take laws into their hands.
