Lagos residents lived in fear as the sound of firecrackers constantly rent the air during the Yuletide, write OLUFEMI ATOYEBI and ’NONYE BEN-NWANKWO. A few hours to the end of 2012, the residents of Lagos and its suburbs were engaged in activities marking the New Year in style. While many people were getting ready for the usual crossover church services, others were busy igniting firecrackers and in the process, sowing seeds of fear among decent folk and disturbing the peace.In some parts of the city, such as Egbeda, Dopemu and Ikeja, the din raised by exploding fireworks on the eve of the New Year was not only intimidating, it was so frightening that even the Lagos fire incident of December 26, which killed a teenager and burnt 15 houses, could not be compared to it.
