The Badoo shrine, allegedly belonging to Alhaji Alaka Abayomi (a.k.a Otupopo) was destroyed by the newly appointed Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Imohimi Edgal and his team on September 20, 2017 to stem the bad influence and danger it posed to students of Ota Ikosi High School and others; courtesy of the report given by the Principal of the school.
According to a report gathered by Oriwu Sun, the demolition was in response to a complaint lodged to Mr. Ayodeji Disu, Lagos State Commissioner of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) by Mr. Sobola, the principal of Ota Ikosi High School, which shares proximity with the shrine.
The Principal was reported to have complained to the RRS boss at a function in Epe that the shrine has become a Mecca of some sort to students since its discovery. According to the Principal, the students used the shrine for sightseeing on a daily basis while those who pass through the vicinity of the shrine on their way home were afraid of being kidnaped for ritual purposes.
He urged the police to urgently do something about the shrine to protect the students from any potential danger posed by the existence of the shrine in the area.
Mr. Disu, in his response, was said to have assured the Principal that he would discuss the issue with the Commissioner of Police for immediate action. A few days after the Principal’s complaint, a police team, led by the Commissioner of Police, once again stormed the shrine at mid-day of September 20 with an armored tank and several other artilleries to pull down the shrine.
Meanwhile, on further investigation and in a bid to get firsthand information on the demolition, Oriwu Sun crew travelled to Otta-Ikosi, where the shrine was located, and shared their experiences.
“As we were about to reach the shrine, we saw four men frantically searching through the wreckages of the shrine. They had probably been sent by some people connected with the shrine to retrieve some charms or other important materials.”
“Immediately they sighted us, they quickly abandoned what they were doing and jumped on two motorcycles, which they brought to the place and fled through a bush path behind the shrine. They had probably thought that we were Police Officers on another mission at the shrine.”
“One of us, however, remarked that if we had walked to the shrine as we had contemplated earlier on, the men would have challenged us or even violently attacked us once they discover that we were not Police men or armed. When we finally arrived at the shrine, we found out that all the structures, both wooden and block, which spanned more than three plots of land, were completely demolished to the foundation and nothing was left standing.”
“One of us quickly alighted from the vehicle with a camera to capture the massive wreckage while the rest of us scanned the area from the car to ensure his safety. When we concluded our mission at the demolished site, we hurriedly took our leave for fear that the men we saw earlier might be lurking around to attack us if they found out that we were pressmen.”
“As we got back to the main road to commence our return journey, we sighted one of the men that fled the shrine riding a motorcycle right in front of us, and immediately he saw our vehicle, he increased his speed believing we were on his trail.”
“When we got to a junction, he hastily turned left to connect another road, which probably led back to where his other cohorts were hiding in the bush. We also connected another road, which took us back to Ota-Ikosi town.
“Meanwhile, before we continued our journey back to Ikorodu, we decided to have a brief stopover at Ota- Ikosi for interview with the residents. All our efforts, however, proved abortive because those we approached declined to speak on the issue concerning the demolition of the shrine.”
“The only resident that spoke briefly with us was an elderly woman, who pleaded anonymity. According to her, the shrine had been existing in the area for a very long time and nobody knew what went on there until the police stormed the place in July.
“The woman also explained how those who patronized the shrine were stealthily conveyed to the place in exotic cars during day time and at night. She disclosed that residents of Igbehin village and Ota Ikosi have been living in fear since the shrine was uncovered, even though no resident had fallen victim of the illicit activities therein.
She also expressed hope that the demolition of the shrine would allay the fear of residents and urged the Police to sustain their surveillance of the area in other to forestall re-emergence of the shrine.”