The clash between hoodlums in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos State which led to the death of two people has made the residents of the area to abandon their houses.

The deceased have been identified as Ahmed Tijani and Ojo.

The clash which was between Hausa and Yoruba dwellers was triggered by the demolition being done by the National Emergency Management Agency.

The Hausa dwellers claimed that the NEMA officials were only demolishing houses belonging to them. This brought about a chaos but officers of the Nigeria Customs Service intervened as they shoot into the air to disperse the hoodlums.

Three persons were said to have been hit by bullets, including Tijani, who later died.

The Yoruba community was said to have been aggrieved by the customs officers’ actions and consequently, some hoodlums chased and injured one of the customs officers.

After that incident, the Hausa group staged serious fight with the Yoruba group which led to the death of two persons and three other persons injured by the bullets.

The Public Relations Officer, NCS, Federal Operations Unit, Ikeja, Uche Ejesieme, said the customs officers were on routine patrol when the hoodlums mounted a roadblock and attacked the operatives.

In his words, “Our operatives were on routine patrol and they ran into a roadblock mounted by some hoodlums. Our men also saw that some NEMA officials were carrying out a demolition in the area, but they were being attacked by hoodlums. So, NEMA officials called on our men to rescue them.

“Customs men cannot shoot sporadically. We have rules of engagement. We have subjected this matter to a thorough investigation. One of our men was injured by the hoodlums during the rampage.”