From all indications, it seems the fear of the dreaded Badoo cult group in Ikorodu is the beginning of wisdom as celebrities residing in the area have expressed their fears over the terror gang’s rising activities.
Ikorodu is a suburb in Lagos that houses a host of A-list Nigerian celebrities like Oga Bello, Funsho Adeolu, Baba Suwe, Lord of Ajasa, Sanyeri, Nike Peller, but to mention a few. Over the weekend, it was reported that a budding comedian and Master of Ceremonies, Chinedu Paul, lost his life because he was mistaken to be a member of the terror gang, Badoo. The young man and two of his friends, were burnt to death.
Some of these iconic actors that reside in Ikorodu were honest enough to admit that the terror gang scares them and they called on government to come to their aid.
While speaking on the development, legendary actor, Adebayo Salami fondly referred to as Oga Bello, said that since the terror activities of Badoo started in his neighbourhood, he has had to re-calibrate his movement.
Maintaining a brave face, the veteran actor said that he was ‘not really’ afraid of the boys who operate mostly at night or early mornings because he has God by his side.
Oga Bello said, “If you have God, you have everything. I am not really scared of them because I have God by my side to protect me. I am very prayerful and I am following the instructions given to us by the government. Our prayer is that God should not let these boys ever come close to us. I don’t move at night; neither do I leave my house very early in the morning. Some of my friends may want to think twice before coming to pay me a visit but I am fortunate not to have friends that move around at night.
“The only way their activities affect us is that we have to restrict our movements and ensure that we do not move at night. I have been living in Ikorodu for about 16 years and I have never encountered anything like this. Ikorodu used to be a very peaceful place but it is like the rest of the world that faces the challenge of crime. We have never witnessed such but I know God would see us through. The government has taken some steps by collaborating with the neighborhood, police and traditionalists and I am optimistic that we would have a desired result. We should first monitor this step before we begin to think of declaring a state of emergency in the area. I believe the government’s initiative is yielding results because they have already begun to pick the boys.”
Comic actor, Babatunde Omidina also known as Baba Suwe was not ashamed to our correspondent that he was frightened by the Badoo group as he called on God never to allow him encounter them in his life.
He added that due to the activities of these boys, people are beginning to flee the neighbourhood which was known for its serenity.
“I was born and bred in Lagos but I have been living in Ikorodu for over ten years. Since I have been here, nothing like this has happened before. Personally I am very afraid of these boys and my prayer is that I should never encounter them in my life. With all that I have heard about their activities, I am scared of them. Their activities have hindered my movement because it is no longer advisable to move around at night. In fact you would be shocked at the number of vigilante groups you would meet on the way. Ikorodu is now hot and a lot of people do not want to come here. It is so bad that lots of landlords have vacated their homes for fear of these boys. They ran for their lives.
“What these boys are doing is very terrible and they are embarrassing a lot of people. If anyone wants to come to Ikorodu at night, they would meet so many security men who would begin to question them. This kind of embarrassment is getting too much but I am sure that God would save us,” Baba Suwe said.
Ace actor, FunshoAdeolu, who has lived in Ikorodu for over 12 years with his family said that anytime he left home for work, he always nursed fears about his family’s safety, no thanks to the terror group.
“If I say I am not scared of them I would be lying but I know that God is in control. Anywhere in the world, people face terrors. People in the north faced worse situations than this but God kept some people while others had to flee. I am praying that God would be in control of everything but to say that I am not afraid, that would be a lie. It is just for us to beg the government to beef up security in Ikorodu and do something about these boys. It is not something that they cannot handle because Ikorodu used to be a very peaceful place. This is the 21st century and such barbaric acts should be frowned at.
“I have been living in Ikorodu for about 12 years now and since then, I have never encountered anything like this Badoo cult group. I would not say that their activities have not affected me because anytime I leave my family to go and work, I always nurse this little fear over their safety but I believe that God is protecting them. I have only heard about their activities but I have not seen anything like that and I believe that they cannot come my way because I am covered by the blood of Jesus,” he said.
It has been reported that sometimes when Badoo strikes, they could be callous enough to wipe out an entire family. In recent times, embittered residents of Ikorodu have resorted to self help through jungle justice because they seem to believe that the security agencies are not doing enough for them.
Adeolu, who condemned jungle justice, said residents resorted to it probably because they were very bitter as he emphasised that an innocent person can easily be a victim.
“The jungle justice people are resorting to is not a good thing but you cannot blame them. It is a pointer that the government should do something because if they don’t, these boys could harm anybody. A person could lose their entire family members and if that happens, he could resort into doing anything. It is very important that anyone who is coming to Ikorodu should do that during the day. Once it is night time, stay in your houses. I do not support jungle justice because while they do that, innocent people could lose their lives as well. I am not praying for anything to happen to my family or anyone but those that have been attacked by this dreaded cult group probably lost all their family and it is so sad. This would make anyone bitter and resort to jungle justice and it would be difficult to stop them unless the government swings into action,” he said.
