Soldier, barber shot as vandals, security operatives clash in Lagos

A soldier and a barber were shot between Monday night and Tuesday morning when pipeline vandals stormed Festac area of Lagos State.

The vandals were confronted by security operatives made up of regular policemen and Op MESA personnel.

The confrontation was largely around the 7th Avenue of Festac town though other reports said the 4th Avenue was also a battle ground.

The operatives of Op MESA, made up of soldiers, were said to have arrived at the canal in the area to arrest the vandals but were resisted.

This resulted in the shootout.

Regular policemen were later drafted to join the soldiers in subduing the vandals.

Meanwhile, commercial activities, grounded during the shooting, have gradually commenced in the area.

A resident of the area, who gave his name as Ayodele George, said: “At first we thought they were armed robbers as they were shooting sporadically into the air but later we discovered they were a group of oil bunkerers who came heavily armed.”

George added that the police and soldiers promptly responded to the distress calls by residents.

Another witness, who gave his name as Emeka, said the armed men were a group of thieves heading to a creek in FESTAC Town but were being chased by the police.

The News Agency of Nigeria observed that soldiers had blocked roads leading to 4th Avenue junction and the police were said to be chasing the thieves.

Some police patrol vehicles were still parked at strategic places in the neighbourhood as commercial activities gradually returned to the town.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joseph Offor, when contacted, told NAN that the incident was not robbery as reported earlier.

Offor said: “There was no robbery in FESTAC Town this morning.

“What happened in the community was sporadic shooting by some hoodlums in the creek.

“But the place is calm now.

“We arrested and paraded some of them last week and impounded a tanker with about 7,500 litres of petroleum products, with a hose and pumping machine.

“They are not happy and I guess that is the reason for them to wake up this morning to disturb the neighbourhood.

“In swift reaction, the soldiers and the police were immediately deployed to the scene, but there are no arrests so far.”