Lagos unrest: The mystery of Nigeria's fake gangster attacks

[!meD]

Hundreds of gang members, mostly teenagers, fleeing police in two Nigerian states under a coronavirus lockdown hoaxed residents into believing that coordinated armed robbery attacks were underway.

Police say the gangsters achieved their intention of creating panic.

Residents set up makeshift checkpoints with burning tyres in border communities between Lagos and Ogun states after forming vigilante groups to protect themselves from the imaginary armed robbers.

For days, groups of anxious residents - young and old, and mostly male - kept night vigils on their streets, armed with machetes, bottles and other household items.

They were braced for an attack that never came.

There were rumours that a group of up to 200 armed robbers were on the rampage.

But the police have told the BBC that it was a widespread hoax by gangsters to create panic before attacking residents and that people had unwittingly assisted them by posting messages on social media.

However, the police insist that no-one was actually attacked.

Edited April 16, 2020 by -Dark
Closed topic / Complete 1 day