A member of a vigilance group that fought against the notorious Badoo Boys cult groups in Ikorodu and its suburbs in Lagos State, Mr. Oni Olanrewaju, has fled the country following alleged threat to his life and that of his family members by the outlawed cultists.
Olanrewaju was said to have fled his home and the country along with members of his family over threats of reprisal and attack against them.
He was a strong member of the Vigilance Group that complemented the efforts of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to check the murderous activities of the dreaded Badoo cult group in Ikorodu and its suburbs in Lagos State.
The Badoo cult was noted for killing innocent people during late hours of the night and due to their ‘guerilla warfare’ mode of operation, it was difficult for regular law enforcement agencies to curtail their murderous nocturnal activities, hence the formation of vigilance groups by residents and other citizens.
Olanrewaju, it was gathered, was a member of a vigilance group raised on September 18, 2017 in Igbogbo and Ibeshe to protect and rescue the two communities from the hands of Badoo cult killers.
Trouble, however, started for Olanrewaju, according to some residents of the area, on December 30, 2017, when his vigilance group trailed, identified and caught one of the Badoo cult leaders, who was trying to escape through the creeks, and formally handed him over to the Nigeria Police Force.
This success recorded by Olanrewaju’s vigilance group, it was gathered, led to the arrest of some other members of the Badoo cult groups.
But some of the arrested Badoo cult members allegedly escaped from police custody and started trailing Olanrewaju and other prominent and active members of his vigilance group in Igbogbo and /Ibeshe communities.
It was further gathered that on January 8, 2018, the Badoo cultists succeeded in tracking down one of Olanrewaju’s vigilance group’s operatives. They killed him and other member of his family.
Olanrewaju, according to some residents, got the hint that he and his family members were the next target of the Badoo cultists and pressure was mounted on him to relocate from the community.
He had to flee when on February 20, 2018, his house was attacked while he and his family members were not
around.
Afraid for his life and the safety of his family members, especially due to the security situation in the country, he decided to run along with his family members. They first went underground and discretely moved from one friend’s place to another until they were able to leave the shores of Nigeria in batches.
Our correspondent gathered that Olanrewaju and his family members first escaped to the United States of America on March 17 and 23rd, 2018, but could not seek asylum due to the US policy on immigration and its unsupportive attitude towards Africa.
They were said to have decided to relocate to Canada to seek asylum because of the confidence they had in the Canadian government policy, which has respect for human rights and also receptive of asylum seekers.
It was, however, further gathered that Olanrewaju has vowed never to return to Nigeria because the safety of his family and the future of his three kids, whose ages range between 12 and 17 years were of paramount importance to
him.
“He has told us that coming back to Nigeria is like signing a death warrant,” one of the residents of the area said.
