For the past six months, border towns between Lagos and Ogun States,
Ikorodu, Ishawo, Igando, Ayobo among others have been under attacks by
militants.
The militants have not only robbed, maimed, kidnapped, but have killed scores of their victims.
Recently, the General Overseer, New Life Gospel Mission, Lagos, Rev.
Zacheus Adebola and his son Toba were abducted. While Toba was released
after ransom was paid, the preacher was shot dead and buried in a
shallow grave in the creek. Rev. Adebola’ story was one of the many
killings perpetrated by the militants.
Three weeks ago, the Oniba of Ibaland in Lagos, Oba Goriola Oseni was
abducted from his palace and whisked away in a speedboat to the creek.
He is still in captivity while the family is negotiating ransom with his
abductors.
Following the state of insecurity in Lagos and Ogun States, the Federal
Government recently clamped down on the militants. The military, since
last weekThursday has rained bomb on the creeks and many militants
have so far been feared killed.
However, Saturday Sun investigations revealed that contrary to the
widely held belief that the kidnapping and other criminal activities
were being perpetrated by the Niger Delta Avengers, the criminal
elements are indeed oil thieves and armed robbers.
How it began
It was gathered that the vandals were having field days, siphoning
petroleum products illegally from the NNPC pipelines in boarder towns
between Lagos and Ogun States before the present administration of
President Muhammadu Buhari decided to apply the big stick on the
hoodlums.
Joint security operatives were deployed to the entrance and exit routes
of the oil thieves. The hoodlums waited patiently for the security
agents to quit the stage for business to continue, but the security
agencies refused to go. It was gathered that when they had run out of
money and could no longer bear the hardship, survival instinct pushed
them to think of what to do.
They went into armed robbery and kidnapping after the military had made oil theft virtually unattractive.
Emmanuel Arigidi, one of the suspects that abducted the Ikorodu school
girls threw light on their transformation from being vandals to
kidnappers. “We are not members of the Niger Delta Avengers. We were
into oil bunkering. We live in the creek. Some of us including, Uki,
TK, Falola, Felix who were big guys in oil bunkering stay in Festac
creeks, Ikorodu and Ajah areas. When government made it difficult for
them to operate, they decided to go into other crimes. They started
using my camp, Adama, as training ground for amoury and safe keeping of
kidnappers victims.
“We have no pipeline in Adama, but it is habitable. There was no
threat. We live normal lives. Big guys like Osy, the leader of Fatola
camp used to supply us arms and ammunition. Some wanted armed robbers,
including Million used to visit us to recruit some guys for robbery.
The FCMB attack on Lekki was organised in Adama creek and acthe robbery
attack in Festac town”, he confessed.
Another suspect, Sobijo said: “I think the government became hard on us
when seven officials of the Department of the State Security Service
(DSS) were killed in Arepo area. They had come to rescue a woman who
was abducted and they were killed. Their bodies were dragged into the
creek and were buried.
They were killed by Osy, Agballa, Keremere. Kelly Fotor who specialised in bank robbery.”
A resident of Arepo, Mr. Sunday said, “the security situation in Arepo
took a turn for the worse when Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
stopped pumping fuel through the pipelines in the community.
“The vandals-turned militants have always been in the creeks but they
never gave us any problem. However, when there were no more pipelines to
burst, they started kidnapping people for ransom.
“Each time they come, there would be shouting, ‘Since you gave
government, information about us, you are going to be providing food for
us. We will abduct you so that we can survive on ransom.”
Recently, one of the kidnappers of the three female students of Macaulay
Junior Seminary, Ikorodu, Lagos, Jumbul arrested by the Lagos State
Police Command told Saturday Sun, “we were into oil bunkering. You would
remember that seven months ago, there was fire outbreak in the creeks.
The fire raged for hours and it burnt over 400 members of our
community. When we saw the damage done by fire disaster, we were
scared. Dead bodies, including some family members, friends,
especially girl friends who came to visit their relatives were caught
in the web. Well, it was not reported because we are doing illegal
business.
“It was the fire outbreak that killed our members that made some of us
to start thinking on the way forward. We decided to go into kidnapping
since it is the only business that can give us big money, at least a
little but near what we used to get from oil theft. Well, my group went
into kidnapping. We did three abductions before that of the school
children in Babington Macaulay Memorial Junior Seminary. Some of us
went into armed robbery. Some of us combined the two.
“For example, TK who was killed between Nigeria and Republic of Benin
recently was a big guy controlling over 200 soldiers in Igegemo creek,
near Festac Town. He was shot dead recently by the combined team of
operatives from Lagos and Cotonou. He was into oil theft, but when the
Buhari administration blocked all the routes, he and his empire switched
over to kidnapping, armed robbery and car snatching. He was also into
advanced fee fraud. His signature was crime. The reason is that people
must survive. Survival instinct must push one to one crime or the
other”
While drawing a line between the militants in the South West and those
in the Delta, he said “No, it will not be right to associate the
militants in Lagos and Ogun State creeks with the Niger Delta Avengers.
We may come from the same place but we have different agitations. The
Niger Delta Avengers are fighting for the environmental degradation and
against marginalization. We are fighting for our stomachs. We are
different from Niger Delta Avengers. Well, you may be right if you say
we are common criminals. I think, we should be addressed like thieves
or kidnappers, rather than addressing us as militants.”
Another militant, Otiono arrested last week at Ishawo, Ikorodu
corroborated Johnbull’s view. He said “well, I think because, we are
addressed as militants, that is why the military is carrying out
offensive against us. People should stop addressing us as militants.”
source: Sun News
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