•As army search for missing officer, weapon
•Heavy pounding in creeks and suburbs

By Ifeanyi Okolie

As rounds of heavy gunfire reverberated  through the air at Abula-Ado and the bubbling city of Festac Town, Lagos State, on Monday night, residents were thrown into panic thinking that dare-devil armed robbers and kidnappers terrorizing the state were carrying out an attack.

Shop owners and popular hangouts around the area hurriedly closed for the day, in order not to get caught in the crossfire as they were yet to unravel what may have prompted the heavy shooting. When the dust settled, news came in on Tuesday morning that soldiers attached to the Artillery Unit at the Ojo Cantonment of the Nigerian Army, launched a massive attack on militants based in a creek close to Abula-Ado and Festac Town areas of Lagos.

Search for missing officer

Crime Guard gathered that their mission was not only to dislodge the militants who have been terrorizing Lagos and Ogun States for a long time, from a camp within the creek which had served as a sanctuary for them but, most importantly, to also rescue an army lieutenant who was kidnapped around Abule-Ado area, last Saturday. There were conflicting accounts of how the Army officer identified as Lieutenant Gyan was abducted.

While some reports said he was on routine patrol at Ijedodo area of Abule-Ado when the incident took place, others said he was inside a popular hotel situated at 7th Avenue in Festac town when the militant swooped on him. Following the abduction, a combined team of military personnel, police and members of Odua People’s Congress, OPC, invaded the sleepy town of Soba, Festac area and environs in Lagos to engage the kidnappers. During the raid by the kidnappers suspected to be militants, the Coordinator of OPC in the Zone, Akeem Lawal sustained bullet wound injuries.

The soldiers who were deployed to Abula-Ado and Festac Town, in 2015, to curb rising cases of pipeline vandalism, bank robberry and kidnappings within those areas, have had running battles with the militants which had led to the death of not only the militants but some security personnel.

In one of the confrontations in December, 2016, it was gathered that five militants lost their lives when they attempted to overrun a military post at Abule-Ado. That incident was said to have angered the militants who retaliated by kidnapping the army officer.

Invasion of neighbouring communities

Meanwhile, as the soldiers prevented the militants from carrying out further operations within Festac and Abula-Ado, the militants moved into other neighbouring communities and carried out several kidnappings and armed robberies. In July 2016, the group kidnapped the Oniba of Ibaland, Oba Goriola Oseni, and received a ransom of N15.1 million before he was released. They also attacked  Ewedogbon  area of Totowu, a riverine community in Ishuti, Igando, old Alimosho Local Government Area,  and killed several persons. The militants also carried out several attacks on Isheri Osun area of Lagos where they kidnapped and killed many persons.

Troops, OPC swing into action

Crime Guard further gathered that military high command gave a matching order to its men to flush out the kidnappers when it received news of the kidnap of Lieutenant Gyan, last Saturday. Troops were seen Monday morning moving into the Abule-Ado creeks with heavy military equipments. The soldiers, who were said to be in their hundreds, stationed themselves strategically within the creeks before they commenced the attack. Members of the Odua Peoples Congress, OPC, who are familiar with the terrain were also on ground to assist the battle-ready soldiers.

A member of the OPC, who spoke with Crime Guard on the condition of anonymity, disclosed that the military deployed a drone into the creek and they used it in determining the exact location of the militants before launching the attack. According to him; “At the end of the attack, the solders took over of the camp. As I speak with you, they have taken over one of the most dreaded camps of the militants at Ijedodo, completely. They have pushed them out of that area. Those militants have made lives in our area hellish. Last week, they shot one of our commanders and three other Northerners working within this area and they are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.”

A military source who also spoke with Crime Guard on the condition of anonymity disclosed that several militants lost their  lives during the operation.

Missing in action

However, Army authorities who came out with a statement after the incident stated that the lieutenant was neither abducted nor kidnapped but was missing in action. Lt.-Col. Olaolu Daudu, the spokesman of the 81 Division, made the clarification in a statement in Lagos.  Daudu said: “The officer got missing in action when troops came under heavy ambush during routine patrol of Lagos creeks. I will like to state that no officer was kidnapped. “However, while on routine patrol of the creeks around Abule-Ado, Festac Town area in Lagos, troops came under heavy gunfire in an ambush.

“They were able to fight their way out of the ambush during which the said officer got missing-in-action. Efforts are ongoing in search of the missing personnel. Troops remain resilient and focused in search of their missing colleague.” He urged members of the public to provide the army with useful information on the missing officer and assured them of their continued safety.

No result so far

As at yesterday, not much has been heard about the rescue operation but military sources said they will not relent until they fish out the fleeing militants with the missing officer dead or alive.

Meanwhile, sources close to the militants intimated Crime Guard that they may have fled to far-away Niger Delta with their victim while soldiers are busy combing the creeks in Lagos and Ogun states. According to the source, they disappeared from the creeks when they noticed the fire power of the military. They were afraid of a repeat of the bloody carnage by jet fighters around their camps in Ikorodu late last year. So this time around, they did not wait for negotiation around those creeks. Rather, they sailed far away and it will be very difficult to locate them unless the army is ready to comb the entire Niger Delta area for their missing officer.”