Ogun Community Deserted, As Pipeline Vandals Engage Police In Gun Battle

“About six houses along Association Road have been abandoned. These are luxury houses. The best the owners do is to come in the afternoon, pick their belongings from the houses and return to their new abodes.
“The ASP was a Catholic. He was returning from church after an evening Mass on May 31. As he drove to his house, the vandals were already at the gate. They surrounded the car and dragged him out. They found Odusanya’s police uniform while searching his car for money. That was why they shot him in the head.
“The vandals would have attacked more residents, but the estate security men exchanged fire with them; so, they fled.”

“After the police officer’s death, another resident was attacked and cut with a machete in the head. The vandals asked him for money, which he quickly gave them. They kidnapped another man on Michael Ekpo Street and collected N4.2m from his family.
“Before these attacks, we wrote to the police authorities, demanding a police post. The estate even created a space for it, but the police said they did not have enough men.
“As a security measure, we buy 30 litres of fuel every evening to keep the streetlights working because there is no power supply.”

“Our estate is one of those communities in Arepo town where there is a menace of Ijaw youths orchestrating vandalism. They have constituted themselves into a serious security threat to our estate, extending their activities to robbery, kidnapping and killing. They have a route along the creeks leading to the estate. They invade our estate with impunity. They operate in large numbers, carrying sophisticated weapons.

“Just two weeks ago, they invaded the estate from the creeks in a commando style and took over our community. Residents are now abandoning their homes and fleeing to Lagos. We need serious help and we call the attention of the government to this.”

“The Arepo crisis is not new. If you have been following developments in the area, you will agree that the police have been battling the vandals.
“Recently, we arrested four principal suspects and our men are still there. We have not given them a free hand to operate in the area. We are mindful that these vandals stay on the high seas. So, the command is working with other security agencies, particularly the military.
“Warewa is now a police division. It was upgraded to a division three weeks ago and this will strengthen the policing of the area.”