Last
Monday’s abduction of three female students from their hostel at the Babington
Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS), Ikorodu, has exposed the inability of security
agents in Lagos State to curb the activities of pipeline vandals operating in
the Arepo, Ogun State, close to Ikorodu, Lagos.
The
vandals who are mainly militants from the Niger Delta, had held sway for a long
time in the area and it’s environ as they masterminded the vandalism of
pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and
siphoned the contents within Arepo.
They are
also behind the incessant bank robberies in Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac and Agbara
areas of Lagos and Ogun States, during which they carted large sums of money
and killed several residents including policemen.
Impenetrable
camp Security sources disclosed to Crime Guard that the vandals led by one
General Ossy, may be keeping the school girls in one of their camps, known as
Fatola camp in Arepo which has served as a fortress to the militants for a long
time. Security agents including policemen, DSS NSCDC, Navy etc who had
attempted to invade the camp in the past were ambushed and killed in the
process thereby making it a no-go-area for security personnel.
Investigations
conducted by Crime Guard revealed that the vandals had resorted to kidnapping
following the recent clamp down on top members of the gang by operatives of the
Inspector- General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, after
they carried out series of bank robberies.
They were
said to have invaded the school which is owned by the Lagos Anglican Dioceses,
shooting indiscriminately before abducting the school girls who were in their
hostel preparing for test.
The
vandals who left the scene in an SUV were said to have also abducted a
middle-aged staff of MTN within Arepo on the same day and a ransom of
N4.5million was paid before he was released by 3am, two days later.
Attack at
Owutu Model school Residents of the area told Crime Guard that the vandals had,
a week ago, invaded Government Senior Model College in Owutu, Ikorodu , and
attempted to kidnap some students but were repelled by the house master who
refused to allow them gain access into the student’s hostel.
It was
reliably gathered that the boys were asleep when the armed men invaded the
premises and were making frantic efforts to gain access into the hostel through
one of the windows when the house master identified simply as Mr. Hector, came
out from his room to challenge them.
Attack on
House Master He was said to have initially mistaken the suspects to be students
of the college from the main hostel block until he was ordered to open the
hostel for them “to choose the number of boys” they wanted. Sensing danger, the
house master reportedly refused but little did he know that the invaders were
more in number. According to our source, “the house master was subsequently
manhandled and mercilessly beaten up with plank and other weapons during which
his hands were tied with rope.
He was
abandoned on the suspicion that he was dead. However, the male students in the
hostel who had earlier been woken up by his cry of anguish during the encounter
with the invaders made attempts to unlock the door and troop out, but it was
gathered that even in his state, the house master was shouting and asking the
students not to come out.
The
suspected kidnappers later left the premises through the same route they had
come in without the school security men at the main gate knowing what was going
on. Few seconds after, the fleeing invaders reportedly fired gun shots possibly
to ward off any confrontation.
Difficulty
in stemming operations of vandals .
The
renewed efforts by the vandals to abduct defenceless civilians for ransom has
exposed the inability of security operatives to completely stem their
operations. Some security operatives who spoke with Crime Guard highlighted
that vandals could no longer carry out large scale bank robberies like what
they did in March 2013, when they raided a bank in Lekki, killed three
policemen and two civilians and carted away large sum of money.
In November,
2015, the same gang struck at a bank in Agbara area of Ogun State, killing two
mobile policemen and carting away large sums of money. In June 2015, the
vandals raided banks in Ikorodu, carting away unspecified amount of money.
It was
gathered that the robbers attacked the banks located at Ipakodo- Ebute, near
Ogolonto in Ikorodu.
They were
said to have used speed boats in accessing the community after which they
raided the two banks in the area.
While the
police were busy spreading their dragnets to track the fleeing bandits, no
fewer than forty members of the gang invaded two banks at 4th Avenue, Festac
area of Lagos state few weeks later and carted away huge sums of money.
A nursing
mother and her child were killed during the operation. Previous encounter Crime
Guard investigations revealed that previous clashes between security operatives
who had attempted to invade the strong hold of the vandals recorded many
casualties on the part of the security operatives.
In May
2014, nine Policemen attached to the Inspector-General of Police Special Anti
Vandalism were kidnapped and killed by the vandals when they attempted to visit
the scene of a pipeline explosion in Arepo pipeline, Ogun State.
The
policemen were said to have boarded a canoe and were last seen heading into the
creek. Their corpses were yet to be recovered as at the time of filling this
report. Litany of woes In the same vein, in January 2015, three officials of
Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were killed while 10 others sustained
severe injuries when they had a confrontation with the vandals in Abule Ishawo
and Tappa areas of Ikorodu, close to Arepo.
The 10
officials who survived the attack were rescued by a reinforced team comprising
the military and NSCDC operatives. After that incident, the vandals chased some
NSCDC officials who escaped from the scene to Owutu Police Station where they
ran into and opened fire on some policemen on guard, killing two on the spot
while two other civilians were also killed.
The
vandals were said to have carted away four Ak47 rifles from the police station
before escaping. Massacre of SARS, DSS teams Few days after, the vandals struck
at four banks in Ijede and Ipakodun areas of Ikorodu. Some operatives of the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, were deployed to Ikorodu to combat the menace
of the robbers, but in one of their operations, four of it’s operatives were
ambushed and killed and their corpses were taken away. Subsequently, in
September 2015, nine operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, were
killed while they attempted to rescue a kidnapped victim from the hands of the
vandals.
The
vandals were said to have ambushed the operatives at Konu, a border town Arepo,
Ogun State while tracking a telephone number used by the vandals in negotiating
the ransom between the victim’s relative.
The
corpses of the operatives are yet to be recovered as at the time of filling
this report. Futile efforts So far, efforts by both the state government and
security agencies in the state to end the activities of the vandals have been
stalled owing to lack of proper synergy.
Investigations
by Crime Guard also revealed that the families of the abducted school girls may
end up paying ransom for their safe release as it may be difficult for security
agents to attempt to rescue the girls owing to the seemingly impenetrable camp
the gang uses. They easily overwhelm security operatives who appear helpless.
Source:Vanguard Newspaper
Source:Vanguard Newspaper
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Last Monday’s abduction
of three female students from their hostel at the Babington Macaulay
Junior Seminary (BMJS), Ikorodu, has exposed the inability of security
agents in Lagos State to curb the activities of pipeline vandals
operating in the Arepo, Ogun State, close to Ikorodu, Lagos. The
vandals who are mainly militants from the Niger Delta, had held sway for
a long time in the area and it’s environ as they masterminded the
vandalism of pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, and siphoned the contents within Arepo. They are also
behind the incessant bank robberies in Lekki, Ikorodu, Festac and
Agbara areas of Lagos and Ogun States, during which they carted large
sums of money and killed several residents including policemen.
Impenetrable camp
Security sources disclosed to Crime Guard that the vandals led by one
General Ossy, may be keeping the school girls in one of their camps,
known as Fatola camp in Arepo which has served as a fortress to the
militants for a long time. Security agents including policemen, DSS
NSCDC, Navy etc who had attempted to invade the camp in the past were
ambushed and killed in the process thereby making it a no-go-area for
security personnel.
Investigations conducted by Crime Guard revealed that the vandals had
resorted to kidnapping following the recent clamp down on top members of
the gang by operatives of the Inspector- General of Police Special
Intelligence Response Team, IRT, after they carried out series of bank
robberies. They were said to have invaded the school which is owned
by the Lagos Anglican Dioceses, shooting indiscriminately before
abducting the school girls who were in their hostel preparing for test.
The vandals who left the scene in an SUV were said to have also
abducted a middle-aged staff of MTN within Arepo on the same day and a
ransom of N4.5million was paid before he was released by 3am, two days
later.
Attack at Owutu Model school Residents of the area told Crime
Guard that the vandals had, a week ago, invaded Government Senior
Model College in Owutu, Ikorodu , and attempted to kidnap some students
but were repelled by the house master who refused to allow them
gain access into the student’s hostel. It was reliably gathered that
the boys were asleep when the armed men invaded the premises and were
making frantic efforts to gain access into the hostel through one of the
windows when the house master identified simply as Mr. Hector, came out
from his room to challenge them.
Attack on House Master
He was said to have initially mistaken the suspects to be students of
the college from the main hostel block until he was ordered to open the
hostel for them “to choose the number of boys” they wanted. Sensing
danger, the house master reportedly refused but little did he know that
the invaders were more in number. According to our source, “the house
master was subsequently manhandled and mercilessly beaten up with plank
and other weapons during which his hands were tied with rope. He was
abandoned on the suspicion that he was dead.
However, the male students in the hostel who had earlier been woken up
by his cry of anguish during the encounter with the invaders made
attempts to unlock the door and troop out, but it was gathered that even
in his state, the house master was shouting and asking the students not
to come out. The suspected kidnappers later left the premises through
the same route they had come in without the school security men at the
main gate knowing what was going on. Few seconds after, the fleeing
invaders reportedly fired gun shots possibly to ward off any
confrontation.
Difficulty in stemming operations of vandals
The renewed efforts by the vandals to abduct defenceless civilians for
ransom has exposed the inability of security operatives to completely
stem their operations. Some security operatives who spoke with Crime
Guard highlighted that vandals could no longer carry out large scale
bank robberies like what they did in March 2013, when they raided a
bank in Lekki, killed three policemen and two civilians and carted away
large sum of money. In November, 2015, the same gang struck at a bank
in Agbara area of Ogun State, killing two mobile policemen and carting
away large sums of money. In June 2015, the vandals raided banks in
Ikorodu, carting away unspecified amount of money.
It was gathered that the robbers attacked the banks located at
Ipakodo- Ebute, near Ogolonto in Ikorodu. They were said to have used
speed boats in accessing the community after which they raided the two
banks in the area. While the police were busy spreading their dragnets
to track the fleeing bandits, no fewer than forty members of the gang
invaded two banks at 4th Avenue, Festac area of Lagos state few weeks
later and carted away huge sums of money. A nursing mother and her child
were killed during the operation.
Previous encounter
Crime Guard investigations revealed that previous clashes between
security operatives who had attempted to invade the strong hold of the
vandals recorded many casualties on the part of the security operatives.
In May 2014, nine Policemen attached to the Inspector-General of Police
Special Anti Vandalism were kidnapped and killed by the vandals when
they attempted to visit the scene of a pipeline explosion in Arepo
pipeline, Ogun State. The policemen were said to have boarded a canoe
and were last seen heading into the creek. Their corpses were yet to be
recovered as at the time of filling this report.
Litany of woes
In the same vein, in January 2015, three officials of Nigerian
Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were killed while 10 others
sustained severe injuries when they had a confrontation with the vandals
in Abule Ishawo and Tappa areas of Ikorodu, close to Arepo. The 10
officials who survived the attack were rescued by a reinforced team
comprising the military and NSCDC operatives. After that incident, the
vandals chased some NSCDC officials who escaped from the scene to Owutu
Police Station where they ran into and opened fire on some policemen on
guard, killing two on the spot while two other civilians were also
killed. The vandals were said to have carted away four Ak47 rifles
from the police station before escaping.
Massacre of SARS, DSS teams
Few days after, the vandals struck at four banks in Ijede and Ipakodun
areas of Ikorodu. Some operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad,
SARS, were deployed to Ikorodu to combat the menace of the robbers, but
in one of their operations, four of it’s operatives were ambushed and
killed and their corpses were taken away. Subsequently, in
September 2015, nine operatives of the Department of State Services,
DSS, were killed while they attempted to rescue a kidnapped victim from
the hands of the vandals.
The vandals were said to have ambushed the operatives at Konu, a border
town Arepo, Ogun State while tracking a telephone number used by the
vandals in negotiating the ransom between the victim’s relative. The
corpses of the operatives are yet to be recovered as at the time of
filling this report.
Futile efforts
So far, efforts by both the state government and security agencies in
the state to end the activities of the vandals have been stalled owing
to lack of proper synergy. Investigations by Crime Guard also revealed
that the families of the abducted school girls may end up paying ransom
for their safe release as it may be difficult for security agents to
attempt to rescue the girls owing to the seemingly impenetrable camp the
gang uses. They easily overwhelm security operatives who appear
helpless.
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/revealed/
Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/revealed/
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