An explosive expert, Mr. Abiodun Amos,
a suspected member of Niger Delta Militant group has disclosed that his group
planned to bomb Third Mainland Bridge in order to arrest the attention of the
Federal Government of Nigeria.
Amos, who described himself as a top
commander of the militant group, confessed that he and his group had been operating
from the creeks of Ikorodu and Arepo areas of Lagos and Ogun states.
The suspect, also known as Senti, an
Ijaw, from Ondo State, said he is the chief expert in explosive for his group.
He was arrested by detectives
attached to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Intelligence Response
Team, IRT. Operatives of IRT trailed him to a river bank at the Majidu area of
Ikorodu, Lagos.
The 43-year-old suspect said that
his militant group was formerly into pipeline vandalism, but later veered into kidnapping
after it became difficult for them to vandalize and sell their stolen petroleum
products.
Amos said: "We went into bank
robberies and kidnapping because we wanted to get government attention. All we
wanted was for them to grant us amnesty and also offer us pipeline protection
contract. We have made several appeals, but the government appears not to be
listening to us. Ibori, our leader, said
if we don't blow up the Third Mainland Bridge, government wouldn’t listen to
us. We have concluded plans to carry out the attack in November ending. I’m the
group’s explosive expert. I was arrested while going into the creek to fine
tune our plan.”
A police source
said: “The suspect and his group were planning to bomb Third Mainland Bridge in
Lagos, when police and NSA foiled it. Recovered from the group were two AK47 rifles,
two cartons of explosives and detonators.”
The police
said that the suspect was arrested after several weeks of follow up. IRT operatives
arrested Amos, who was one of the key members of the group.
Amos was
arrested at the Bank of Majidun River in Ikorodu area of Lagos on November 2,
with two AK47 rifles hidden in a bag he brought from their hideout in the creek.
Working the phone recovered from him, IRT operatives started trailing some of
his associates.
The police
source said: “Analysis of the phone number of the Amos revealed his closed associates
were in Ikorodu area of Lagos. IRT teams were deployed to Ikorodu on December, 26,
2016, to apprehend one of the suspects. On sighting IRT operatives, the suspect
jumped out of his car and escaped into the bush. On searching the Toyota Camry car, two Cartons
of Gelatine Dynamite Explosives and hundreds of detonators were recovered in
the boot of the car.”
The police source continued: “Amos was
arrested based on intelligence, generated by the office of the National
Security Adviser to the President, NSA, which was passed on to the Inspector General
of Police Ibrahim Idris. The intelligence gathering indicated that the group
was at its final stage of carrying out an attack on the Third Mainland
Bridge.
“The IGP swiftly instructed operatives
of IRT, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr. Abba Kyari, to
commence full scale investigation. During investigations, it was discovered that
the group was planning to blow up the bridge at the end of November 2016.
Further investigation revealed that the group has acquired large
quantities of dynamite and several other explosives which would be used for the
attack.”
In October 2016, the group, known for
pipeline vandalism, kidnapping and bank robberies, had demanded for amnesty,
threatening to disrupt economy activities within Lagos and Ogun states if the federal
government doesn’t dialogue with them and grant them pipeline protection
contracts.
The leader of the militant group is
known as General Ossy Ibori and is alleged to be behind bank robberies and several
high profile kidnappings in Nigeria.
Ibori and his group were allegedly
behind the abductions of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu,
four landlords at Isheri North Area of Lagos, Oniba of Ibaland, Oba Goriola Oseni
and several others.
Ibori was also alleged to have boasted
in an interview with a national newspaper that his group had over 21 generals
commanding 7,800 battle-ready men.
Ibori, it was said, boasted that his
group was rich enough to fight the federal government as it had acquired
thousands of military grade arms and ammunition, which he said would be
deployed in disrupting economy activities within the two states, if government
failed to dialogue with the group and grant its wishes. The IRT operatives, trailing
members of the group, made several arrest within Ikorodu parts of Lagos state. One
of the suspects was said to have given the police information, which led to the
tracking and subsequently trailing of Amos.
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