There was pandemonium on Thursday in the
Arepo area of Ogun State and some part of
Lagos State after the military bombarded the
base of suspected militants in the states.
The PUNCH learnt that scores of militants
were reportedly killed in the joint military
operation which lasted for more than one
hour.
A source said the military attacked Fatola,
the base of the militants, adding that houses
around the area were shaken by the impact
of bomb explosions on the Ijaw militants.
He said, “There has been a lot of
commotion. The Nigerian Air Force
bombarded Fatola, in Arepo, which is the
base of the militants. They are shelling the
place with fighter jets. Some soldiers also
surrounded the area to make sure that if any
of the militants should run out, they would
be gunned down.”
A resident said people in the area had
started fleeing their homes due to the
bombardment.
Another resident in the Imushin area of Ogun
State told our correspondent that two
aircrafts were involved in the operation,
adding that only one base of the militants
was attacked.
He said, “An aircraft had actually been
surveying the creek for the past three days.
But a second one joined this evening around
6pm. All we heard was a sudden bomb blast
released from the second aircraft. But it
appeared that some of the militants had fled
into the bush. There are four major bases of
the militants in the creek and they are led by
two men- OC and Agbala. If the military can
get these two people, then they would have
succeeded in clipping the wings of the
militants.”
A community leader, who claimed to have
spoken with one of the officers, said, “The
military officer said residents should not
panic because it was a military exercise. I
also gathered that the casualty figure was
high and that a lot of the militants had been
killed.”
The Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen.
Rabe Abubakar, confirmed the operation,
saying it involved the army and the navy.
He said, “The military only conducts its
routine operation for the purpose of denying
the vandals and other criminal elements
from causing terror in the area. The
operation, codenamed, Operation Awatse,
was initiated by the defence headquarters to
dominate the area with a view to flushing
out all manners of criminals including
militants and saboteurs. The operation
involved the joint forces of the navy and
army and it has been successful.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos
State, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the police
were part of the operation.
She said, “The Nigerian military and
policemen from the Lagos and Ogun
commands are part of the operation. We are
sweeping through the waterways where we
share boundaries to end the activities of the
militants. It is a continuous exercise and we
cannot tell the number of casualties.”
The acting Police spokesperson, ASP
Abimbola Oyeyemi, promised to call back
our correspondent, but he had yet to do so
as of press time.
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