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| Arase |
The Inspector General of Police(IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase
yesterday ordered the immediate arrest and detention of a Deputy
Superintendent of Police(DSP), who led the ill-fated operation against
pipeline vandals on Thursdays at the Obadore area of Igando, Lagos,
describing it as illegal.
The operation left four policemen dead, two battling to
stay alive at the Igando General Hospital and six AK47 rifles missing.
The vandals, who attacked with pump action rifles, disappeared with the
corpses of the four policemen.
This was even as fresh facts emerged that the team was not
really the IG’s team as the policemen claimed, but Anti-Vandalism Task
Force, based in Lagos. The team members were 11 that embarked on the
deadly fateful operation.
Latest information further revealed that the angry vandals
attacked after the policemen demanded for N10 million bribe, threatening
they would arrest a female member of the gang for oil bunker if the
money was not given.
The Task Force went to Igando Police Station, to book for
the operation, posing as the IG’s Monitoring Unit, claiming they came
all the away from FCT, Abuja.
According to a police source, Arase flew into a rage after he got information that the team impersonated his Monitoring Unit.
After the bloody clash, Arase was said to have ordered a
preliminary investigation, insisting he never authorised any such
operation. The preliminary investigation quickly uncovered the
impersonation.
As of yesterday, the four corpses of the slain policemen
were yet to be recovered. The vandals were said to have dragged the
corpses into the river after felling them with bullets from their pump
action guns.
Two policemen are still in Igando General Hospital,
battling to stay alive. The vandals, numbering over 20, including women,
made away with the six police rifles.
The DSP, a Sector Commander, Anti-Vandalism Task Force,
Lagos, identified as Expression Omoego, has been arrested and detained
by policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad(SARS)m Ikeja,
Lagos State Police Command.
Arase has also further instructed that SARS operatives take over investigation of the case until further notice.
Meanwhile a police sergeant, attached to the Igando Police
Station was picked yesterday. It is believed that he used to work, wine
and dine with the vandals. He was sighted at the site of the bunkery.
The police source said: “It’s clear the Task Force team
wanted to make quick money. They never knew things would turn out this
way. As the IG’s Monitoring Team, they can embark on any operation, but
not without the IG signing the petition or authorising them to go. Thus
they posed as IG’s Monitoring, fooling policemen at Igando Police
Station. A real IG’s Monitoring Unit is supposed to have booked at the
Lagos State Police Command for back up, but they didn’t do so. The
operation was illegal!”
A senior police source, giving a blow by blow account of
what led to the shoot out on Thursday, said: “ The police team is
actually members of a Task Force based in Lagos, but they went to Igando
Police Station to book as the IG’s Monitoring Unit, from Abuja. The
operation was illegal. When they got to the oil bunkery site at Obadore,
they met a woman. She is part of the gang that used to do bunkery. The
police team demanded for N10m bribe or they would arrest her. But she
pleaded they should accept N1m, but the team refused. They later
bargained to N5m, but the woman still refused. The woman told them that
she used to bribe other policemen N200,000, that they were asking for
too much. She said she could only cough up N1m.
“She moved away and made a call. Within minutes, over 20
vandals, armed with pump action rifles, appeared and opened fire on the
team. Four policemen died instantly, two are critical and now in
hospital. Whether they’ll live or die, depends on God. The DSP who lead
the team was faraway, watching his men negotiation, so he was the first
to escape when shooting started. The vandals dragged the four dead
policemen into the river and till now we are still searching for them.”
The four dead policemen are said to be in the ranks of
Sergeants and Corporals. One of the wounded policemen in the hospital is
a corporal, the second is a sergeant.
“The woman who made the call was fortunately arrested. A
police sergeant who used to work with the vandals was also arrested at
the scene. The sergeant used to collect returns from the vandals,” said
the source.
After a head count was taken, it was discovered that two
members of the team are nowhere to be found. They were among those that
first fled the scene as the vandals opened fire.
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