Police arrest 43 ‘No Salary’ gang members, recover arms in Lagos

The Operation Crush of the Lagos State Police Command has arrested 43 suspected members of a notorious “No Salary’’ gang terrorising residents of Ikotun in Lagos.

DSP Bala Elkana, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday, stating that nine locally made pistols were recovered from the suspects.

He assured that the raid will continue until the hoodlums were fully uprooted from the area and the state in general.

Elkana said, “Operation Crush has arrested 43 no salary boys over the last few days and have recovered 9 locally made pistols.

“The operations will continue until they are totally uprooted.”

NAN reports that the “no salary gang” is a group of young men and women who usually gather at Council Bus-Stop, Ikotun where they terrorise pedestrians and motorists.

Some eyewitnesses of the activities of the notorious gang members had narrated their ordeal to newsmen.

Mr Olafemi Akinwale, who witnessed one of their raids recently, said the gang was called, “Kesari’’ “No Salary boys’’ and Council is their meeting point.

He said “They came from Ikotun, Egbe, Idimu, Egbeda and other places around council bus stop.

“One morning, I was going to work and they were raiding at council, holding sticks, machetes, bottles and other dangerous weapons.

“They were at the roundabout, which became a no go area, so, the bus had to turn back and take an alternative route.

“I got down, took a commercial motorcycle and I saw them looting shops and harassing passers-by.

“They were male and female, from various cult groups, as they had different tattoos on their bodies.

“They are between the ages of 15 years and 25 years. I heard they were on rampage because one of them was killed’’.

Another eyewitness, Mr Henry Osuji told NAN that he would have been a victim of their operation a week ago if he had not aborted his journey to the council bus stop.

He said, ”I saw them, holding dangerous weapons, at Idimu roundabout at about 9:30pm.

“I have to retreat immediately before they caught up with me. I narrowly escaped that day.”