•It’s not true –Police
By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi
After the Nigerian Army dislodged Boko Haram from its Sambisa stronghold in Borno State, in the North-East, some of the insurgents have set up homes in Lagos.
The insurgents have reportedly infiltrated Eti-Osa local government area of the state, Daily Sun gathered at the weekend.
A security source disclosed that, after the army cleared Sambisa of insurgents, “fleeing Boko Haram members have settled in communities around the country; but, naturally, any stranger who arrives in any environment, stands out. It’s not only Boko Haram members who have infiltrated Lagos, there are also Niger Delta militants and kidnappers living in waterfront shanties around the state…”
But, the Lagos Police Command has denied the presence of insurgents in the state.
Public Relations Officer of the command, Dolapo Badmus, insisted “it is not true. There is no such story. We are aware that kidnappers always use our waterways, but, we have more formidable strategies in place to combat them. Right now, we have more water boats, well-equipped with highly sophisticated weapons to repel any criminal…”
Last month, the army arrested a fleeing Boko Haram commander in Lagos.
The unnamed commander was arrested in the Ikorodu area of the state on Saturday, December 24, 2016.
Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai disclosed this on Sunday, December 25, 2016, when two major roads (Maiduguri-Gubio-Damasak and Maiduguri-Monguno-Baga) in Borno, which were closed since 2013, at the height of Boko Haram attacks in the North-East were re-opened.
A month earlier, former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Isidore Edet said the army had arrested 37 Boko Haram suspects, in the past 15 months, in Lagos.
He said this during a handover ceremony after he was redeployed as Commander, Infantry Corps, Jaji in Kaduna.
He said: “As Boko Haram is being defeated in the North-East, the terrorists run to other parts of the country. We ensure they are arrested irrespective of where they run to. Lagos is not an exception; we have continued to arrest them and hand them over to the necessary agency. We have arrested over 37 of them since August last year when I took over…”
Regardless, Executive Director of Safe Habitat, a pro-environment non-governmental organisation, Ade Williams, confirmed plans are afoot to demolish shanties at Ebute Ikate Elegushi area of the state and called on the state government and relevant stakeholders to “show serious interest in the activities of aliens from neighbouring countries, and criminals fleeing from other parts of the country in some riverine communities in the state.
“We are concerned about information reaching us that some aliens and criminals fleeing from law enforcement agencies have formed the habit of creating illegal settlements and shanties in some water front communities, especially in Eti-Osa local government area of the state, where they constitute environmental nuisance and launch criminal attacks against residents of Lekki, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and others.”
Williams said, in a statement released yesterday, that, “the earlier government and other stakeholders take decisive action against such settlements and shanties, the better for the environment, lawful residents and business development of the area and the state as a whole.
“We are glad to update members of the public that further information reaching us after our statement on Saturday indicates that both the state government and the relevant stakeholders in Eti-Osa local government area of the state have started taking steps to remove the shanties in Ebute Ikate Elegushi to stop the entrenchment of environmental nuisance and security threats coming from the community.”
Commending Ambode, the Elegushi Royal Family and Ikate Elegushi Residents Association “for rising up to the challenge”, Safe Habitat noted that the state government had taken similar action last year to rid Ikoyi and Victoria Island of such environmental nuisance. Williams said past government in the state had equally summoned the same will to cleanse Kuramo beach of criminal activities in 2007 by dislodging illegal settlers erecting shanties there.
“We are aware that the prompt response by the state and the relevant stakeholders is to disallow fleeing Boko Haram insurgents dislodged from the North-East, Niger Delta militants and other criminal elements from neighbouring countries from having a foothold in Eti-Osa and, indeed, Lagos State. We commend this and urge all stakeholders to mobilise support for the effort.
“We recall some concerned residents of Eti Osa had petitioned incessant harassment, nuisance and robbery perpetrated by the occupants of the shanties at Ebute-Ikate, Elegushi. Following that, the Ikate Elegushi Residents Association also wrote another petition to the Lagos State Task Force, Alausa, Ikeja, to further complain about the unwholesome activities of the occupants of the shanties in the same community.
“We can also remember that, sometimes, in September 2014, a fight reportedly broke out at the shanties at Ebute Ikate, Ikateland between rival groups of Delta/Eastern extraction on the one hand, and their Egun counterparts on the other, as a result of which one Ogosu, the Egun cult leader allegedly killed one Daniel Edet who belonged to the rival group; but due to the timely intervention of policemen from Ilasan Police Station, the clash was prevented from escalating into a full-fledged internecine, tribal war.”
