Suspected militants flee Lagos community as military air raid continues

SUSPECTED militants have started leaving Imuti, Igbo Olomu and other parts of Ikorodu in Lagos State as military onslaught on militants terrorising the community continued on Friday.

A new detachment of soldiers was, on Friday, deployed to combat the activities of Niger Delta militants in the state.

Residents told Saturday Tribune that some suspected militants had started relocating from the community.

They, however, decried the inability of the security agents to challenge the fleeing militants and possibly arrest some of them.

Military aircraft reportedly returned to the Ikorodu community around 8.00 a.m. on Friday and hovered around the base of the militants at the creek.

A resident who simply identified himself as Sile told Saturday Tribune that “the plane returned this morning and hovered around the creek for some time before going away.”

He said “some military men were also brought in but they are yet to get into any major confrontation with the militants. We have not heard any serious gunshots.”

The resident added that “since yesterday’s invasion by the military, we have started noticing some strange faces leaving the communities. Some of them used fez caps to cover their faces and mounted commercial motorcycles with bags on their backs.”

He also stated that “the only thing is that we cannot stop them since we cannot confront them. There were no policemen in the communities to stop them. Many of them would have been arrested.”

Other residents of Igbo Olomu who spoke to Saturday Tribune urged the military to sustain the air raid on the community as a form of solution to the menace of the militants.