Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Igando residents flee as military, militants clash

By Odita Sunday and Tunde Alao
27 July 2016   |   4:31 am
All hell broke loose yesterday when gunmen, suspected to be militants engaged a combined force of the police and military in a fierce battle at Ewedogbon community of Igando, Lagos State.
Drone and security agents deployed to the area

Drone and security agents deployed to the area

Five shot as police repel gunmen in Lagos suburb

All hell broke loose yesterday when gunmen, suspected to be militants engaged a combined force of the police and military in a fierce battle at Ewedogbon community of Igando, Lagos State.

The streets were empty, as many residents chose to remain indoors for fear of being caught in the crossfire. Immediately trapped residents made the distress call, over a combined team of 100 policemen and soldiers were drafted to the area.

The Rapid Response Squad (RRS) further deployed drones and helicopters to track the movement of militants in the area, while the Nigerian Army forces have surrounded the area to restore sanity and flush out the militants.

Already, residents are fleeing the community and environs in droves for fear of reprisals from the gunmen. It was gathered that at the early hours of yesterday, suspected militants had stormed Ewedogbon, possibly to abduct people before everybody in the area started running for cover.

The militants, who were angered that their mission had failed, started shooting sporadically and the noise of the gunshots attracted policemen, who called for reinforcement.

The militants escaped in about four speedboats and as they were running, some of them were shot by security operatives. However, five persons including a policeman were injured.

As at press time, a combined team of policemen from the RRS, Mobile Police Force (MPF), conventional policemen and the army were on the ground, with over 50 patrol vehicles and 10 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) station at the scene.

A resident, John Ogenevo, said: “We are tired of the war situation we found ourselves in Lagos. Any waterway is now a dangerous route. It was in the same manner the militant came and abducted the Oba of Iba. They had come again to abduct a group of people before an alarm was raised.

“Only God knows who they will come for. Thank God today’s attempt was foiled possibly because it was in the daytime. This axis is haven for pipeline vandals, now that there is no avenue for siphoning fuel; they have now resorted to kidnapping.

“We are all relocating our families. Many of us are fleeing because life is no more interesting. Life is short and brief .We don’t know whether we are in a war situation. They said five persons were shot, but I doubt if that’s the actual casualty because with the sporadic gunshots I heard today, the figure may be more than five.”

Another resident, Oluwadare Damilola, said his younger brother , Fidelis has been missing. “He just left for work when I started hearing gunshots. I have been calling his two phones and they are still switched off. I am worried whether the hoodlums took away my brother. I am still waiting to hear from him.

Another witness said: “The hoodlums, who stormed our community, comprising of Fatoki, Obadore and Egan stole our generating sets, televisions, money and other valuables. The police actually responded on time and repelled the idiots, who fled in their speed boats.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Dolapo Badmos, who confirmed the attack said, “hoodlums invaded a community in Igando in large numbers in an attempt to cause havoc and a state of insecurity. There was panic but the police responded swiftly and repelled the hoodlums.

“The Marine Police has been deployed to man our waterways and more strategies have also been put in place to forestall further attacks on communities residing on waterways.”

3 Comments