Militants shoot at Ogun dep. governor, security chiefs
Suspected militants that have been tormenting communities in Ogun
State yesterday prevented a convoy led by Deputy Governor Mrs. Yetunde
Onanuga from accessing a part of Ebute-Ibafo in Obafemi Owode local
government.
In the entourage were Bridgade Commander, 35 Artillery Army Bridgade,
Alamala Barack, Abeokuta, Brigadier – General Mohammed Danqalis, the
Director of the Department of State Service(DSS), Ogun state Command, Mr
Kabiru Sanni, Deputy Commissioner of Police(Operations), Mr Bello
Makwashi, Secretary to the State Government Taiwo Adeoluwa, Commisdioner
for Information and Orientation, Dayo Adeneye, the Baale of Ebute –
Ibafo, Chief Afolorunsho Balogun, the Olu of Imusin, Oba Taiwo Adebunmi
Bamgbose and five other traditional rulers.
As the team approached the creek through which the militants usually
follow to escape after attacking the Ebute – Ibafo community, the
militants shot at them sporadically from the creek. The soldiers and the
police in the team returned fire. The trip was aborted.
Secretary to the State Government Adeoluwa
urged the Federal Government to urgently constitute a military task
force like the one in the Niger Delta to tackle the militants.
“This level of team led by the deputy governor cannot access a part
of our state. It means without mincing words, the Federal Government
needs to get involved in this.
“This is clearly beyond the capacity of the police. This is something
which we believe in Ogun state, a major task force, military operation
task force like the one we have in Niger Delta is necessary and
desirable now.
“We all can see, we were in Elepete, Igbo Olomu, Imagbon, Imuti,
nothing compared to the violence there. You all heard the shooting, this
is something that should be a source of worry to everybody and we think
the Federal Government should come to our aid,” Adeoluwa said.
Earlier during a visit to other communities under the militants’
attack, Mrs Onanuga appealed to hundreds of fleeing indigenes and
residents of the five communities to return home.
She said measures had been put in place to protect them from further attacks and killings by suspected Niger Delta militants.
In the last one week, five of Imusin’s 27 communities in Sagamu Local
Government Area of Ogun state had come under grave attacks by the
suspected militants, resulting in the death of over a dozen villagers
and destruction of their properties.
The affected communities visited are: Imagbon, Elepete, Igbo – Olomu, Imuti and later Ebute – Ibafo.
Addressing the Olu of Imusin, Oba Taiwo Bamgbose, and a handful of
his people at Igbo Olomu, one of the scenes of the killings of several
of the villagers on June 17, Mrs Onanuga assured that the killers would
be brought to justice.
But in a twist of fate, while the Deputy Governor was still
addressing the distressed villagers to convey the government’s message
of hope and sympathy, information soon came in that a member of the
community, Sarafa Olayinka, had just been abducted by the militants and
taken to the creek.
Also, the Baale of Ebute – Ibafo, Chief Folorunsho Balogun, while
still narrating his community’s ordeal in the hands of the militants to
the state government’s representatives earlier, said he too had
received a message that his subjects – Alhaji Odugbesan and his wife,
had been abducted by the militants.
Chief Balogun said the militants invaded his community three days
ago, killed people, attacked a bakery and carted away loaves of bread.
He also said some beautiful women were abducted from the community.
According to him, even domestic animals – goats and chickens-were not
spared during the onslaught as many of them found roaming the streets
were shot and taken away by the militants.
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