It is rare to find wild animals roaming
free in neighbourhoods, so Omole estate
in Lagos was recently thrown into a state
of excitement when a crocodile was
caught in the gated neighbourhood.
The animal, which residents described as
“very large”, became a spectacle at one
of the gates to the estate, on Sunday,
December 22, 2013. For residents not
used to seeing wild animals lurking in
their neighbourhoods, the sight was
unexpected.
The animal had earlier been caught by
the estate’s security operatives around
2am on Omotunde Akinsola Street, by
Today’s Car, after it strayed from a
swampland at one end of the
neighbourhood. Three bullets shot at the
animal did not kill it.
So the initial buzz of excitement
generated by the incident soon turned
to apprehension for residents. Some of
them described the crocodile which was
over six feet long, as frightening.
A resident living by the swamp where the
animal was caught, who identified
herself as Ogechi, said she heard three
gunshots that morning, and had thought
they were meant to scare away robbers.
“Now, there is a general fear in the area
caused by the incident. It’s amazing
finding such a wild animal around where
people are living; I think it’s very
dangerous because a crocodile should
not be going about in a neighbourhood,”
she said.
“I heard three shots around 2am and I
thought maybe there were robbers
around. I didn’t know an animal was
being shot.”
For Ogechi, however, her lifestyle was
bound to change as a result of the
incident. “I will be more watchful
because of the incident and even stop
going out in the night,” she added.
Another resident, Aanu Oladapo, feared
that there were more dangerous animals
where the suspected crocodile had come
out from. Oladapo said he had heard
stories that wild animals paraded
around the swampy area in the estate,
but had not believed until the recent
incident.
“I’d heard that such animals sometimes
come out from the swamp but I never
believed until now. I saw the crocodile
live myself and it was really too big to be
roaming a residential neighbourhood,”
he said with a measure of concern.
Although, Garba Umaru, who works as a
private security guard in the
neighbourhood, had no cause to fear for
himself. Considering his profession,
Umaru was confident that he could take
care of himself.
However, Umaru’s confident stance and
voice seemed to waver with emotion as he
spoke about his five young children.
Umaru, who put his “help in God”, said
“big crocodiles can swallow a person, so
my children’s safety is in God’s hands.”
Indeed, there have been concerns raised
by construction workers about the threat
of wildlife to the community. The
workers often sight wild animals in the
community since they usually lead forays
into new development sites.
A construction worker working on a new
building by the swamp, Shedraq Benson,
said workers often see the wildlife or
their imprints on marshy grounds.
Benson said he often sees imprints of
crawling snakes and reptiles on
marshlands that had just been cleared
for the start of building development.
He said, “Sometimes, we see large snakes
and crocodiles. Once, I saw the imprint
of a very large snake. By the marks left
on the ground, I could see that a large
snake which was more than a foot in
width had just crawled on the ground. I
was afraid to work on the site that day
for fear of meeting it face to face.”
Benson added that he had also once
seen a bigger reptile than the one
recently caught by security operatives in
the neighbourhood.
“Two of us saw the crocodile, but our
machetes could not cut it at all. So we
went to see if we could get a gun but it
had gone by the time we got back,”
Benson said.
Benson’s work partner, Pius Okere, killed
a crocodile that also strayed from the
swamp in 2012. However, Okere said the
crocodile was small.
“The ones we’re killing are not the big
ones; they are probably the kids. The big
ones are still inside the swamp,” he said.
Meanwhile, the two security operatives
who captured the crocodile have been
made local heroes by their deed, even
though their deed is what animal rights
activists would look at with dismay.
One of the security operatives, Abu Alli,
said he shot the animal three times
after being notified by his colleague,
identified as Itoro.
Recounting the incident, Alli said, “My
colleague sighted the crocodile moving
inside a residence, but he didn’t have a
gun. He managed to divert the animal’s
movement into a drainage, where it got
stuck because it was too big.
“So he came to call me and when I got
there, I shot it three times. I’m sure
that one of the bullets hit it in the
head, but it didn’t die. We later tied a
rope round its leg and drew it to the
estate gate, where residents had a view
of it in daylight. The incident happened
at about 2am and by noon, someone
bought it from us for N20,000. The
animal was still alive when we sold it.”
However, Alli said he had been surprised
by his newfound popularity status in the
neighbourhood since the incident,
adding that security personnel had to be
more vigilant in future.
“It surprised me that everyone has been
talking about the incident. But I don’t
think we did anything wrong by shooting
the crocodile because it could have
wounded somebody. I’m glad it didn’t
attack anyone, so what we did was
justified.”
Wild tales
Since the incident though, the
neighbourhood has had its fair share of
wild tales and gossips. Different
accounts of the incident with varying
sizes of the animal have been rendered
from mouth to mouth in the estate that
the facts have been blurred somewhere
between the lines.
A commercial motorcyclist in the estate,
who identified himself as Musa, told
Saturday PUNCH that the animal that
was caught had even spoken in human
voice.
“It was very huge and almost as tall as
this motorcycle. It spoke and demanded
for human being to eat,” Musa insisted.
free in neighbourhoods, so Omole estate
in Lagos was recently thrown into a state
of excitement when a crocodile was
caught in the gated neighbourhood.
The animal, which residents described as
“very large”, became a spectacle at one
of the gates to the estate, on Sunday,
December 22, 2013. For residents not
used to seeing wild animals lurking in
their neighbourhoods, the sight was
unexpected.
The animal had earlier been caught by
the estate’s security operatives around
2am on Omotunde Akinsola Street, by
Today’s Car, after it strayed from a
swampland at one end of the
neighbourhood. Three bullets shot at the
animal did not kill it.
So the initial buzz of excitement
generated by the incident soon turned
to apprehension for residents. Some of
them described the crocodile which was
over six feet long, as frightening.
A resident living by the swamp where the
animal was caught, who identified
herself as Ogechi, said she heard three
gunshots that morning, and had thought
they were meant to scare away robbers.
“Now, there is a general fear in the area
caused by the incident. It’s amazing
finding such a wild animal around where
people are living; I think it’s very
dangerous because a crocodile should
not be going about in a neighbourhood,”
she said.
“I heard three shots around 2am and I
thought maybe there were robbers
around. I didn’t know an animal was
being shot.”
For Ogechi, however, her lifestyle was
bound to change as a result of the
incident. “I will be more watchful
because of the incident and even stop
going out in the night,” she added.
Another resident, Aanu Oladapo, feared
that there were more dangerous animals
where the suspected crocodile had come
out from. Oladapo said he had heard
stories that wild animals paraded
around the swampy area in the estate,
but had not believed until the recent
incident.
“I’d heard that such animals sometimes
come out from the swamp but I never
believed until now. I saw the crocodile
live myself and it was really too big to be
roaming a residential neighbourhood,”
he said with a measure of concern.
Although, Garba Umaru, who works as a
private security guard in the
neighbourhood, had no cause to fear for
himself. Considering his profession,
Umaru was confident that he could take
care of himself.
However, Umaru’s confident stance and
voice seemed to waver with emotion as he
spoke about his five young children.
Umaru, who put his “help in God”, said
“big crocodiles can swallow a person, so
my children’s safety is in God’s hands.”
Indeed, there have been concerns raised
by construction workers about the threat
of wildlife to the community. The
workers often sight wild animals in the
community since they usually lead forays
into new development sites.
A construction worker working on a new
building by the swamp, Shedraq Benson,
said workers often see the wildlife or
their imprints on marshy grounds.
Benson said he often sees imprints of
crawling snakes and reptiles on
marshlands that had just been cleared
for the start of building development.
He said, “Sometimes, we see large snakes
and crocodiles. Once, I saw the imprint
of a very large snake. By the marks left
on the ground, I could see that a large
snake which was more than a foot in
width had just crawled on the ground. I
was afraid to work on the site that day
for fear of meeting it face to face.”
Benson added that he had also once
seen a bigger reptile than the one
recently caught by security operatives in
the neighbourhood.
“Two of us saw the crocodile, but our
machetes could not cut it at all. So we
went to see if we could get a gun but it
had gone by the time we got back,”
Benson said.
Benson’s work partner, Pius Okere, killed
a crocodile that also strayed from the
swamp in 2012. However, Okere said the
crocodile was small.
“The ones we’re killing are not the big
ones; they are probably the kids. The big
ones are still inside the swamp,” he said.
Meanwhile, the two security operatives
who captured the crocodile have been
made local heroes by their deed, even
though their deed is what animal rights
activists would look at with dismay.
One of the security operatives, Abu Alli,
said he shot the animal three times
after being notified by his colleague,
identified as Itoro.
Recounting the incident, Alli said, “My
colleague sighted the crocodile moving
inside a residence, but he didn’t have a
gun. He managed to divert the animal’s
movement into a drainage, where it got
stuck because it was too big.
“So he came to call me and when I got
there, I shot it three times. I’m sure
that one of the bullets hit it in the
head, but it didn’t die. We later tied a
rope round its leg and drew it to the
estate gate, where residents had a view
of it in daylight. The incident happened
at about 2am and by noon, someone
bought it from us for N20,000. The
animal was still alive when we sold it.”
However, Alli said he had been surprised
by his newfound popularity status in the
neighbourhood since the incident,
adding that security personnel had to be
more vigilant in future.
“It surprised me that everyone has been
talking about the incident. But I don’t
think we did anything wrong by shooting
the crocodile because it could have
wounded somebody. I’m glad it didn’t
attack anyone, so what we did was
justified.”
Wild tales
Since the incident though, the
neighbourhood has had its fair share of
wild tales and gossips. Different
accounts of the incident with varying
sizes of the animal have been rendered
from mouth to mouth in the estate that
the facts have been blurred somewhere
between the lines.
A commercial motorcyclist in the estate,
who identified himself as Musa, told
Saturday PUNCH that the animal that
was caught had even spoken in human
voice.
“It was very huge and almost as tall as
this motorcycle. It spoke and demanded
for human being to eat,” Musa insisted.
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