Residents of Meiran, Lagos State, were gripped by fear on Wednesday afternoon after a violent confrontation involving suspected hoodlums erupted in the area, with reports of young men chasing one another with axes.
Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred around 1:00 p.m. at the Kabowei Bus Stop axis of Meiran.
Although no fatalities were recorded, the disturbance triggered widespread panic among residents and road users.
Motorists were said to have hurriedly abandoned their vehicles as the clash unfolded, while commuters and nearby residents fled to safety.
Groups of youths, some visibly armed with axes, were reportedly seen running through the road, forcing traffic to a standstill.
A resident, Segun, who spoke to reporters, said he was compelled to leave his vehicle and take cover in a nearby building until calm was restored.
\u201cThe incident started close to an amala joint at Meiran Bus Stop. When I saw about five men holding axes and chasing others, I immediately abandoned my car and ran into a nearby house,\u201d he said.
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to risk driving through that situation. Several other motorists also parked their vehicles and waited until things settled. After some minutes, when everywhere was calm, I returned to pick up my car.\u201d
Another resident, Moses, attributed the violence to a dispute between some youths and a local ice cream vendor.
\u201cSome boys collected ice cream and refused to pay for it. When the seller asked for his money, they started threatening him,\u201d Moses explained.
\u201cHe then called his friends to intervene. That was when the situation escalated, and some of the boys allegedly brought out axes, leading to the chaos,\u201d he added.
As of the time of filing this report, it could not be confirmed whether anyone sustained injuries during the incident.
Attempts to get a response from the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Abimbola Adebisi, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages sent on Wednesday were not returned.
While the motive behind the clash remains unclear, the incident has heightened concerns among residents, especially against the backdrop of similar violent confrontations involving youths and dangerous weapons reported in other parts of Lagos.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Residents of Meiran, Lagos State, were gripped by fear on Wednesday afternoon after a violent confrontation involving suspected hoodlums erupted in the area, with reports of young men chasing one another with axes. Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred around 1:00 p.m. at the Kabowei Bus Stop axis of Meiran. Although no fatalities were recorded, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n