Police, Lagos dismiss rumours of bandit attacks

Panic spread through parts of Lagos State on Monday as rumors of a bandit attack led parents to rush to schools to pick up their children. Reports circulated alleging the presence of bandits in communities around Eleko and Imota, prompting school authorities to ask parents to collect their wards.

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I was called from my children’s school that bandits are around Eleko and that we should pick up our children from school.

Parents received notifications from schools in the Eleko area, specifically within the Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area, instructing them to pick up their children due to alleged nearby bandit activity. This directive reportedly affected multiple schools in the community, leading to children being sent home.

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The directive was issued across the schools around this place, that schools should be closed and that parents should pick up their children. Children are all over the place now. They said all children should go home.

However, both school authorities and government officials have refuted these claims, attributing the widespread panic to misinformation. The alarm was reportedly amplified by claims made during a radio program, which alleged that two schoolgirls had been killed by bandits at a primary school in Imota Local Council Development Area. A headmaster in Agbowa stated that an accident, not a security incident, triggered the alarm.

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We wish to state categorically that the information contained in the video is false, misleading, and entirely unfounded. There is no verified report, official record, or credible security information confirming the alleged incident within Imota LCDA.

The Executive Chairman of Imota LCDA, Benson Ayodele, issued a statement calling the report "false, misleading, and entirely unfounded," emphasizing that there was no verified information confirming the alleged incident. He warned against the spread of unverified reports that could cause unnecessary panic and urged residents to rely on official security agencies for information. The radio station that aired the report later apologized for broadcasting the information without full verification.

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During our live phone-in segment, we received calls from listeners alleging that ‘Imota is on fire’ and that ‘bandits are in a public school’ with ‘two girls affected’. In the urgency to inform, the information was aired without full verification from security agencies and community leaders.