Market women at Iyana Ipaja market in Alimosho Local Council of Lagos State have cried out to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu over an alleged siege by hoodlums and miscreants.

The aggrieved women who took to the streets to protest the alleged extortion called on the governor to come to their rescue and save them from the claws of street urchins and hoodlums.

According to them, the hoodlums who claimed to be working for one Ishola Ejigbadero (who claims ownership of all the land in Iyana-Ipaja) have been disturbing the peace of the market, extorting money from them and making life unbearable.

The traders alleged that they were regularly forced to pay huge fines to the hoodlums to trade peacefully in their shops.

According to the market leaders, they have done everything they can to stop the boys, but they seem unstoppable.

The protesters, who carried placards with various inscriptions, said the collectors allegedly terrorised Iyana Ipaja and environs over the withdrawal of revenue collection from Jimoh Ejigbadero and called on the government and council Chair, Jelili Sulaimon, to save them from harassment.

The market Iyaloja, Alhaja Mufuliat Adebayo, said the boys who go by funny names such as Destiny, Olufimo, Iyana, Odo, and 2-Pac have become demi-gods in the market as the traders fear them.

“We have been on this issue since 2023. We have reported them verbally and in writing to different government agencies, but nothing has been done. Ejigbadero’s revenue-collecting boys locked up shops and made sure traders didn’t sell anything for more than 24 hours, even threatening to kill them if they did.”

Alhaja Adebayo said she wrote to one Kabiyesi (monarch) in Alimosho Local Council and told him to call a meeting and caution the boys because some of them are indigenes.

“The Kabiyesi called the boys and told them to stop harassing traders, but they have not. So, I have decided to let the world know what we are going through in this market. It was gathered that the person backing Destiny, Olufimo, etc, is Ishola Ejigbadero.

“Whenever any of them is arrested, Ejigbadero would keep shouting that nothing will happen to them because he has the backing of a prominent politician in Lagos State. And true to his boast, he usually resurfaces in the market in five hours.”

The Guardian learnt that trouble started when the Local Council Development Area (LCDA) chair, Sulaiman Jelili, withdrew Ejigbadero’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection contract.

An angry Ejigbadero was said to have stormed the office with thugs to remove the new contractor.

In the fracas, Saheed Ibrahim, a transporter, was shot in the leg, while others suffered gunshot wounds.

Residents have always complained that Ejigbadero was intimidating them with fake documents in a bid to take over their land.

They alleged that he said his father bought the lands from Alimosho Municipality and accused him of extorting money from anyone owning shops.

“He claims his father owns the land. If we go to the police to complain, nothing happens,” the Iyaloja added.

When The Guardian contacted Ejigbadero yesterday, he said: “I don’t know about any hoodlums and protests. I’m just hearing this from you. I work as a real estate agent, so I don’t know about such protests. I’m not a transporter. I’m not a street fighter. I’m a land owner and a property investor. I deal with properties, so I don’t know about hoodlums.

“I have a judgement. Anyone who wants to contest it can go to court and challenge my judgment. I have a judgement that covers all the areas in Iyana-Ipaja. Abuja has investigated the issue of the killing, and everything has been handed over to the police in Panti. I’ve been invited and questioned. Nothing concerns me anymore.”