6th August, 2016
The Commandant, National Security and Civil Defence Corp, NSCDC, Lagos State, Tajudeen Balogun says the civil defence and other security agencies are determined to flush out militants and vandals from Lagos.
He said about 150 civil defence officers were currently in Ikorodu to block all exit points so that the fleeing militants could be apprehended.
Balogun, who spoke with PM News in Lagos said the military, NSCDC, police and others were working together to flush out not only the militants but other criminals in the Ikorodu axis, specifically “in those communities where we share boundaries with communities in Ogun state.”
“The bombardment had started since. The Nigerian Navy is working on the waterways, the Army, NSCDC and others joined them in the ground battle. We all have different roles assigned to us. We are performing our duty well. And one of our duties was to block the exit point where the militants can escape from.
“Sometimes, for security reasons, we do not give the exact number of persons arrested. But if you are conversant with what were already reported, you will discover that we have made some arrest. We are deploying a lot of our men. As a matter of fact, we have a lot of back up from some other adjoining states,” Balogun said.
He debunked claims that innocent people were killed during the bombardment of the militants and vandals in Ikorodu and Arepo.
“As far as I know, there was no innocent soul killed during the bombardment. And during the last briefing we had, there was no report from other security agencies that residents died during the attack. The operation is ongoing, so there is no way we can get the correct fact. The true fact will be stated at the end of the operations. And these will be released by those assigned to do that.
“This operation is like when one is going to hunt. If one sets the farm ablaze, the animals will run out. And what will be the essence of the exercise if we allow the animals to run away. That is the area that we are working cautiously on; pinning down the suspected militants. This is to make the exercise successful and that is arresting the suspects to know who was funding them and how they get their arms. They are the foot soldiers.
“Those in the creek may just be tools for the main suspects. We don’t expect all of them to be in the creek. While the exercise was ongoing, some of my men called me that some persons ran out from the creek. And they claimed that they have been kidnapped for sometimes. Before we can ascertained if they were truly kidnapped, we have to profile them to ascertain their claim. In this type of exercise, people may want to claim what they were not all in the name to escape arrest. A typical example was the pastor who ran out of the creek during the bombardment.
“Those who came out of the exit point aside those that we had arrested were more than what anyone could imagine. A lot of innocent persons were trapped in there. People that were able to escape from inside the scene were more than 30. Some of them held themselves hostage when the militants started to attack. But when they realized that the military had arrived, they came out. Some people are returning to their houses now because they realized that the military has come to salvage the community,” he stated.