The residents of Totowu in Igbesa Local Council Development Area of Ogun State have called on the state government to come to their rescue following the invasion of their community by suspected militants and pipeline vandals.
Some of the residents, who pleaded anonymity for fear of being attacked, told Saturday PUNCH that no fewer than seven persons in the community, including a policeman who was returning home from work, were recently killed by the hoodlums while several others were injured.
A resident said trouble started in the community some days ago when the leader of a peacekeeping group led his boys to apprehend some pipeline vandals who usually make use of the nearby waterways to escape after carrying out their illegal act.
The source explained that following the detention of some of their members by the group, the militants, who wanted their boys released, invaded the community in large numbers and started shooting sporadically, killing persons going about their legitimate activities.
It was gathered that some residents were beginning to flee the area for safety. Our correspondent also learnt that the vandals usually operate using military uniforms.
The source added, "Social activities in this area have been paralysed and schools have been under lock and key. Families are also seen running for their lives because the gunmen have vowed to attack the village anytime from now if their boys are not released.
"The policeman who was killed on Monday was killed while inside a boat to sail to his residence on the other side of the water. Not even the efforts of the policemen from Igando division could stop the gunmen from killing innocent souls. The corpse of the policeman was taken away by policemen from Igando police station."
While calling on police authorities and the state government to come to their rescue, the residents said their lives were in serious danger if nothing was done to safeguard the area.
Meanwhile, efforts to know what the police in Ogun State was doing to address the issue were not successful as the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.
Comments