It was commotion all the way yesterday at Ipaja, Ayobo Road in Lagos, when a a security personnel at Justrite Church Bus stop, Ipaja, threatened to assault and destroy the phone of a journalist with The Nation Newspaper, Damola Kola-Dare.
According to the reporter, he needed to get essentials for his family only to get to there past 7pm and meet the place barricaded with a good number of people outside. Upon enquiry, a staff said they had closed for the day and that nobody was inside.
He noted that together with the crowd outside, they appealed to the officials of the shopping mall to let them in to get whatever they wanted, but they remained defiant.
According to him, “I went to get essentials and toiletries for my family at Justrite, Ipaja, Ayobo road Lagos. I got there around past 7pm only for me to meet barricades at the entrance.
“I saw quite a good number of people and wondered what was happening. Upon enquiry, officials and security men said they had closed. It was shocking after coming from a far place to get essentials.
“l reminded them we were regular and good customers, but it seemed we were blowing hot air. We suggested we wanted to see the manager in charge, they insisted they had closed.
“I recalled that that was what they did on Boxing Day last year around 5pm i and that they should consider us after coming from far places.
“Others said they had paid heavily in this subsidy era to transport themselves down there. A particularly man said he had come from Lagos island for some events and he also wanted to get toiletries before returning.
“All attempts to plead with them fell on deaf ears as they remained defiant,” he said.
Kola-Dare noted that he brought out his phone to receive a call and one of the security personnel threatened to jump the barricade and assault him and smash the phone.
“My phone rang and I brought it out to make a call,just then one of the security personnel threatened to jump over the barricade and assault me physically and collect the phone and smash it to the ground. It took efforts from the crowd to stop him while still threatening fire and brimstone,” the reporter added.
The reporter recalled that similar thing happened on Boxing Day last year when around 5pm when they locked everyone outside claiming they had closed. He said the excuse they gave was that their staff wanted to go home for celebrations.
“An elderly man in the crowd told them that customer relations was imperative in business and that it was wrong to attempt assault a customer. This was just as everyone returned to their various destinations,” Kola-Dare added.