Panic as soldiers, pipeline vandals exchange gunfire in FESTAC

Residents of FESTAC town in Lagos woke to sounds of repeated gunshots on Tuesday, as suspected oil bunkers and security personnel were engaged in a gun duel.

A resident of the area, who gave his name as Ayodele George, said the bunkers had besieged the area at about 6am, shooting sporadically into the air for over an hour.

“At first we thought they were armed robbers as they were shooting sporadically into the air but later we discovered they were a group of oil bunkers who came heavily armed,” he told NAN.

He added that the police and soldiers promptly responded to the distress calls by residents.

Another witness who gave his name as Emeka said the armed men were a group of thieves heading to a creek in FESTAC town but were being chased by the police.

According to NAN, soldiers blocked roads leading to 4th Avenue junction while the police was on the chase of the suspects.

Some police patrol vehicles were still parked at strategic places in the neighbourhood as commercial activities gradually returned to the town.

When contacted, Joseph Offor, police spokesman in the state, told NAN that the incident was not robbery as reported earlier.

“There was no robbery in FESTAC town this morning, what happened in the community was sporadic shooting by some hoodlums in the creek but the place is calm now,” he said.

“We arrested and paraded some of them last week and impounded a tanker with about 7,500 litres of petroleum products with a hose and pumping machine.

“They are not happy, and I guess that is the reason for them to wake up this morning to disturb the neighbourhood.

“In swift reaction, the soldiers and the police were immediately deployed to the scene but there are no arrest so far.”