… arrest 13 suspected kidnappers, kill one
Security operatives deployed to the Ishawo community in Ikorodu area of Lagos State on Wednesday began the demolition of illegal shanties along the waterfront within the creeks suspected to serve as hideouts for criminals terrorising the area.
Fatai Owoseni, the state commissioner of police, who briefed journalists on the ongoing operations in the creeks by a combined team of Marine Police, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Mobile Policemen and the men from the Anti-Kidnapping Squad and local vigilante group, said 13 suspected kidnappers had so far been arrested and were aiding the team to track other suspects on the run.
“We have so far arrested 13 suspects. We are interrogating them and they are making useful statements. We are making progress and you can see that helicopter surveillance is also supporting all what we are doing, but we want to assure members of the public around this axis that the government is ready, the security agents are ready to ensure that we put an end to the madness of these criminal elements,” Owoseni said.
Two weeks ago, suspected gunmen in Ishawo killed four police officers and an army captain, after the security personnel were ambushed by the suspected militants in Ishawo area.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who condoled with the families of the victims, assured that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would be tracked and brought to justice.
Owoseni said the governor had ordered the joint operation to hunt down the perpetrators, adding that the operation was yielding positive results.
“So far so good, following the attack that occurred at Ishawo where we lost four of our policemen and army captain, we have deployed operatives in the water. What you have seen now is for us to appraise what we have been doing for the past one week. So, quality arrests have been made and we are talking to them because the arrests that were made we believe that we get some evidential value from them, so they are talking to us, at least that makes us to know who we are looking for so that we won’t be just wild catching,” the police commissioner said.
The police boss said the visit to Ishawo was to appraise the work done so far and the next line of action.
The joint team was able to get to the proper camps of these criminal elements where they saw some of them cooking food who fled immediately they saw the combined team.
We just feel that we should take a decision to destroy the camps. The destruction of the camps are ongoing, that is why we are here and the officers that are handling the destruction of the camps, they are right inside the creeks and at the end of the day, they would share the story as they finish that operations,” Owoseni said.
