Fleeing Niger Delta militants invading Ogun -CP

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, has raised the alarm that desperate Niger Delta militants who are looking for a safe haven have been invading Ogun State.

The Police boss stated this while speaking to reporters over the invasion and killing of about 15 persons in Imushin community in the Ogijo area of the state.

According to Ali, the militants are apparently finding it difficult to operate in the Niger Delta region following increased military deployment to check their nefarious activities.

According to reports, over 100 militants had stormed the community on Friday night, killing 15 people during a shooting spree that also left several persons injured and property destroyed.

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Though the police commissioner insisted that three persons were killed, he said the heavy deployment of military in the oil rich region has prompted the militants to be breaking new grounds in order to continue to perpetrate oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal bunkering.

He added that the riverine areas of the state have thus become attractive to the militants, who carry out attacks from the creeks and rush back.

According to him, it was the same militants that had been behind the recent spate of pipeline vandalism and economic sabotage in the Arepo axis along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, adding that he has reported the emerging security threat to the ‘highest authorities.’

“It’s not true that 15 people were killed there. The DPO Ogijo was on ground; he reported that only three people were killed and their bodies have been recovered from the scene,” he said.

The police boss also warned that if adequate measures were not taken, the militant activities may snowball into insurgency.

“The militants are finding it difficult in Niger Delta and Ikorodu area of Lagos State. They are now moving to our side in Ogun. They are the ones involved in kidnapping and all sorts of crime.

“These boys are becoming lawless. It is the same group that killed. NNPC officials, SSS and Navy officers in Arepo. They are responsible for lots of criminal activities in the area.  Honestly, they should be treated like Boko Haram”.

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