Earlier yesterday it was reported that
the Nigeria police foiled an attempt by a notorious Niger Delta
militant group operating from the creeks of Ikorodu and Arepo on the outskirts
of Lagos and Ogun states to blow up the Third Mainland Bridge in
Lagos.
According to the Nation a top commander of the group, Abiodun Amos, who
is also known as Senti, an Ijaw from Arogbo, Ese-Odo Local Government of
Ondo State, who is also said to be the group’s explosive expert, was arrested
by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence
Response Team (IRT), who trailed him to a river bank at Majidun, Ikorodu,
Lagos.
Two AK47 rifles hidden in a
“Ghana-Must-Go” bag were found with the suspect. He led the IRT operatives to a
vehicle parked discreetly within Ikorodu, where a large catche of dynamite and
detonators was recovered— from its boot.
It was also learnt that Amos’ arrest
followed intelligence generated by the office of the National Security
Adviser (NSA), which was passed on to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim
Idris, indicating that the group was at its final stage of carrying out an
attack on the Third Mainland Bridge—Africa’s longest at 13 kilometres.
It was confirmed that
the group was actually planning to blow up the bridge at the end of November.
The group, detectives discovered, had acquired large quantities of
dynamite and several other explosives for the attack.
In October 2016, the group, which
has no known identity and was notorious for pipeline vandalism, kidnapping and
bank robberies, demanded for amnesty, threatening to disrupt the economy within
Lagos and Ogun states if the Federal Government did not dialogue with it and
grant its members pipeline protection contracts.
The leader of the militant group,
known as “General” Ossy Ibori, who coordinated most of the bank robberies and
high profile kidnappings, including that of three schoolgirls at Babington
Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu, four landlords at Isheri
North, Oniba of Ibaland, Oba Goriola Oseni and many others within
Lagos and Ogun states, boasted in an interview that his group had over 21
“generals” commanding 7,800 battle-ready boys.
He added that the group was rich
enough to fight the Federal Government as it had acquired thousands of military
grade arms and ammunition, which he said would be deployed in disrupting the
economy within Lagos and Ogun states, should the Federal Government fail to
dialogue with the group and grant its wishes.
Sources disclosed that the IRT
operatives made several arrests within Ikorodu and other parts of Lagos State.
One of the suspects is said to have given the police the information, which
they used in trailing and arresting Amos, who was on his way into the creeks.
The 43-year-old suspect confessed
that his group was formerly into pipeline vandalism but they resorted to
kidnapping when it became difficult for them to vandalise and sell their stolen
petroleum products. According to him;
“we went into bank robberies and kidnapping because we
wanted to get government attention and all we wanted was for them to grant us
amnesty and also offer us pipeline protection contract. We have made several
appeals and the government is not listening to us. “General” Ossy said ‘if we
don’t blow up the Third Mainland Bridge government’ they would not listen to
us. We had concluded plans and we decided to carry out the attack by
November ending. I am the group’s explosive expert and before I was
arrested we were going into the creek to conclude plans on how to carry out the
attack.”
In an Interview with Police
spokesman Don Awuna, a deputy Commissioner (DCP) said
“Yes, an individual was arrested. On sighting the policemen,
the second suspect jumped out of his car and escaped into the bush, abandoning
the operational vehicle.
”On searching the vehicle, two cartons of Gelatine dynamite explosives and hundreds of detonators were recovered in the boot of the car. Efforts are in progress to arrest the remaining gang members”.
”On searching the vehicle, two cartons of Gelatine dynamite explosives and hundreds of detonators were recovered in the boot of the car. Efforts are in progress to arrest the remaining gang members”.
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