About 147
suspected militants might have been killed in the ongoing joint military
operation in riverine communities affected by recent spate of criminal
attacks in Lagos and Ogun states.
The affected communities had come under
the siege of hoodlums suspected to be Ijaw militants with about 50
residents reportedly killed in the past weeks while few others were
kidnapped.
The development has led to the desertion
of some of the affected communities by residents as many of them
continued to leave in droves until last Thursday when the military
commenced a raid on the camps of suspected militants. Speaking with Sunday Sun
reporter, a local security source told our correspondent on phone that
casualty recorded on the part of the militants as at yesterday afternoon
might not be less than 150.
“The casualty as at yesterday as we were
told was about 114 but this morning we heard that more of them have
been killed and that the figure may be up to 150,” the source said.
Asked if there was any incident involving civilian casualty, the source
said: “I cannot say anything on that but all I know is that people have
continued to leave some of these areas perhaps out of fear.”
Lagos State police Public Relations
Officer, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police, on the other hand
dismissed the fear of possibility of civilian casualty. “It is a wrong
impression to be talking about civilian casualty because the operation
is taking place deep in the creeks. It is not in the communities,’’ she
said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian military has
described as cheap propaganda, insinuations that its aerial bombardment
at the Arepo area of Ogun State was on targets that were not pipeline
vandals and militants. The Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval
Command, Rear Admiral Ferguson Bobai, who is the coordinator of the
exercise, said the targets that were destroyed by the military were
carefully assessed using aerial surveillance technology mounted on the
Nigerian Air Force aircraft involved in the operations.
He spoke explained: “Initially we were
directed not to use air power, but when we carried out assessment of the
area a lot of the vandals had moved from areas accessible by water to
very difficult terrain. Following this development we returned to the
Chief of Defence Staff, demanding that airpower is the only way for the
vandals to be dislodged. And in using airpower, just like I told you
during the briefing, we assessed the area and made sure that the targets
are very ones that we needed to take out.
“We have video recording from the
surveillance aircraft and we also have still photos which were analysed
properly and carefully before we commenced the operation. I must tell
you that this is just propaganda to whip up sentiments.”
Admiral Bobai said the vandals are
economic saboteurs and that the aerial bombardment would continue until
the vandals are subdued.
“This evening we will deploy our
surveillance aircraft to take shots of areas bombed and we will then
analyse the photos and if there are still targets we need to take out,
we will continue the bombing until the targets are completely taken
out,” he noted.
He said that the bombardment was a
directive of the Defence Headquarters and the need to bombard the area
came following incidences of pipeline vandalisation, kidnapping and
armed robbery.
Just last month, the military and
component of the operation code-named Operation Awatse got directive
from the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, to carry
out an operation in the general area of Arepo with a view to dismantling
vandals camps and shanties scattered around Arepo, Ibafo, Ishawo and
all the areas around that axis. (Sunday Sun)
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