2005
Lagos.
As people world over were celebrating the coming of the New Year on Saturday
night, street urchins, popularly called Area Boys, capitalised on the
festive mood to unleash terror on the residents of Lagos.
At
the popular Oshodi and Mushin markets in the Lagos metropolis, it was confusion
everywhere between 8.30 and 9.30 pm, as the miscreants used firecrackers to
attack traders who scampered in different directions. The street urchins hid
under the ensuing commotion to loot goods and wares and steal money belonging to
those selling inside the market. ...
A
woman explained that
she left her wares because different firecrackers were exploding simultaneously
around her. <<I was afraid of getting injured by the firecrackers that
kept on exploding at the same time, one almost blew up right under my feet and
at that point, I had to run for cover,>> she said.
Pickpockets
and petty thieves also had a field day, as they too hid under the cloak of
firecrackers robbed people at various bus stops in the metropolis.
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