Policeman Murders Makoko Monarch

It is bad enough that they have lost their ancient homeland, but it is even worse that they have also now lost their king. And the residents of Makoko are kitting up for whatever war they can manage to wage against the Lagos State Government for making them lose both their kingdom and their king. 

The displaced residents of Makoko community are billed today to march on  Alausa,  the seat of government, to display their displeasure against their displacement.

A resident who spoke to ThisDay, Agbodemo Isola, said the protest would take off from Makoko to the Government House at Alausa, Ikeja. He said: "We are going to protest the murder of our ‘baale’ at Alausa on Monday. It is quite unfortunate that since the incident happened the government has not sent any representative. "For now, we are mobilising for the baale's service of songs and we've gone to see his three widows and the 14 children he left behind."

The bulldozers were unleashed on the community a week ago, crushing and squeezing the wooden buildings that served as their homes, which they had erected on the lagoon  for over a hundred years. Makoko, before its demolition, was such a degenerate slum that served as home to over 85,000 persons.

It is a tough fate for the community that at the time the government ever remembered them, it is to send them packing from where they have always known as home, the ancestral base of their kiths and kindred. But beside the pains of dislocation and exposure to the  elements, the Makoko residents have the added pain of having their Otun Baale of Egun, Timothy Azinpono, killed by  a police Corporal called  Boma Pepple last Saturday.

It is even more tragic that the monarch was killed unprovoked, whilst he sought to make peace between the demolition squad and the angry residents.

The state police command announced that it had arrested and detained the trigger-friendly corporal whose is now undergoing  interrogation. The corporal allegedly shot a man in the stomach and the victim was rushed to General Hospital, Gbagada where he was later confirmed dead.

The corpse has been deposited at the General Hospital, Ikeja for post-mortem examination while the suspect has been arrested and detained at the state Criminal and Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba."