Residents of a community in the Alimosho area of Lagos were thrown into panic in the early hours of Sunday when armed police operatives launched a large-scale operation targeting suspected criminal hideouts and arrested several suspects.
The raid was carried out around the Oko Filling Bus Stop axis on the LASU–Governor’s Road corridor, near Alimosho General Hospital along the Iyana Ipaja Expressway.
Witnesses said heavily armed officers, backed by multiple patrol vehicles, stormed the area during the overnight operation as part of efforts to curb criminal activities in the locality.
During the exercise, security operatives reportedly demolished and set ablaze a large refuse dump believed by residents to have been used as a hideout by suspected armed robbers and other criminal elements.
The operation sparked fear among residents, many of whom were awakened by the presence of security personnel and sounds believed to be gunfire.
Some residents reportedly contacted emergency services as the situation unfolded, while others fled their homes in search of safety.
Although authorities had yet to confirm the source of the gunshots, eyewitnesses alleged that the sounds may have resulted from an exchange between police operatives and suspected criminals during the raid.
Residents said concerns had repeatedly been raised with security agencies over the activities of hoodlums in the area, accusing criminal gangs of using the location as a base for unlawful operations.
A resident identified as Deola claimed he sustained injuries during the commotion that followed the operation.
According to him, panic erupted when suspected cult members fled in different directions after the security crackdown.
“I was injured while trying to escape the confusion. People started running when the suspected cultists scattered across the road. Some injured persons were later taken to hospital for treatment,” he said.
As of the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Police Command had not issued an official statement on the operation.
However, sources familiar with the exercise said the raid was aimed at dismantling a suspected criminal enclave and preventing further security threats within the community.