Militants ‘dust off bullets’ in gun battle with OPC, police in Lagos

Policemen and some members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) engaged suspected Niger Delta militants in a gun battle in Ewedogbon, a riverine community in Igando-Ikotun local council development area of Lagos, on Tuesday.

The exchange of gunfire, which lasted for hours, created tension in the community and forced residents to abandon their homes even after the gun battle had subsided.

Residents said the militants stormed the community on Sunday evening, but only kidnapped a woman, who was returned around 3am on Tuesday.

The victim was believed to have been raped, since she was freed without any demand for ransom.

“There has been tension since they kidnapped a young lady from this area on Sunday night,” a landlord in the area, who refused to disclose his identity, said.

“We just noticed strange movements on that particular day, and we had been suspecting that they would return anytime soon. They brought back the lady around 3am today. It’s not as if they contacted her family members for ransom, she is not even an influential person to say maybe they collected money from her.

“The lady moved her things out early this morning, and it appears as if they only abducted her for pleasure.”

Gideon Osaremi, a resident who witnessed the incident, narrated how it happened.

He said the militants broke into some houses, attacked a commercial motorcyclist with machete, and raided a shop before the arrival of security operatives.

“What happened this morning was that a bike man and an elderly man were involved in an argument. The bike man threatened that he was going to kill the man,” Osaremi told TheCable.

“The man picked up a stone and said he will use to hit the boy, but the bike rider was adamant and the situation continued until all of a sudden about 11 armed men came out from the end of our street.

“Immediately, we ran inside, and we started hearing gunshots. From inside, we were seeing what was happening. They saw another bike man, and as he tried to escape, they attacked him with machetes, and used his bike to move round the community.

“They were singing in their language. The militants broke into the shop of a woman, packed her things. They took bread, can drinks, recharge cards and so many things. We were seeing them from the place; we were inside our compound – a one-storeyed building.

“Not up to 30 minutes, they reinforced and they were up to 40 this time around. They kept shooting and going round, and some of us called the police and when the policemen arrived, they challenged them. One OPC member in this area also joined the officers to engage them.

“The shooting lasted for over an hour. They were targeting the OPC man but their bullets could not penetrate his body. Most of the policemen took cover, except an officer who was also prepared for battle. The policeman kept firing back at them but when he realised that the bullet was not affecting them, he stopped shooting.”

Osaremi said the militants retreated when they realised that security personnel had been reinforced, but they returned to the community when the security men left.

“After they left, the security men asked those of us who had gathered by then to move inside, and some people quickly entered their apartments to take their things with the hope of leaving. Suddenly, the militants came out and started shooting again.

“This time around, soldiers joined the policemen on ground and the shooting continued until they escaped.”

TheCable witnessed the arrival of soldiers in armoured personnel carriers (APCs). Policemen also stationed their vehicles on both sides of the LASU-Iba road, the entrance of the community.

Some shanties close to the water in the community were set ablaze, just as detachment of policemen and soldiers continued to move into the interior of the community, which was made inaccessible by the security men.

Some residents vowed to stay back because they had nowhere to go. An indigene of the community told TheCable that the militants were calling for war.

“I have nowhere to go. Thank God I am a young man. Our prayer is that these soldiers should remain here for long, but after their departure, we will mobilise and defend ourselves,” he said.

“They kidnapped a king, now they want to descend on us. Boko Haram has been in the north for long, and militants in the Niger Delta, why would they bring this to Lagos?”

Dolapo Badmos, spokeswoman of the Lagos state police command, said the police foiled the attack, adding that normalcy has been restored.

“Some group of people invaded the area in the early hours of today. Our operatives were alerted and they swiftly moved in and foiled the attack,” she told TheCable.

“Right now, normalcy has returned to the vicinity. No single death recorded.”

Ewedogbon is a few kilometers away from Iba, where a monarch was abducted two weeks ago, and his abductors have been demanding a ransom of N50 million.