the Southwest especially within the Lagos – Ogun axis.
Ossy Ibori became the most wanted criminal as
far back as 2013 after the gruesome murder of nine policemen whose corpses are
yet to be found and the disappearance of some staff of Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Arepo area of Ogun State. It was the era of
militant commanders popularly known as Igbekorowa, Kakadu, TK, Agbala and
others.
One by one
It was gathered that while Igbekorowa was
killed in one of the fire outbreaks at the creeks, Agbala who was a dismissed
policeman was granted amnesty. Although, he claimed not to have physically
participated in most of the robbery cases, suspects who were arrested by the
police said he had his cut from every robbery loot but preferred to stay in the
creeks.
Gradually, security agencies began the mop up
of the commanders. This led to the killing of Kelly who was gunned down during
a shootout with policemen in Bayelsa at an event organised in his honour days
after the Lekki, Lagos bank robbery in 2015.
Next was ‘Million’ who was picked up in his
private house in Benin, Edo State. ‘Million’ in a bid to save his life assisted
the police to mop up several militants including their arms dealers. He is now
in Kirikiri Prison awaiting trial.
Not bothered by the determination of security
operatives to end their reign of terror, TK, another notorious militant took
over the mantle of leadership.
Before his death, militants in detention
described him as a trained sharp shooter who cannot be easily arrested. His
effort to get amnesty from the Federal Government failed and to send his
message across, he gave security agencies especially in Lagos and Ogun
sleepless nights.
He successfully raided banks in Ikorodu and
Festac area of Lagos, and kidnapped as many persons as he could.
During his era, Ossy who was said to have
restricted himself to Ikorodu creeks also got paid after each raid as his boys
normally participated because of their expertise in theft. Ossy claimed to
channel his energy into pipeline vandalisation while he also depended on the
proceeds that his boys sent to him after each operation.
Sometime in 2015, the reign of terror of TK
was brought to an end after a botched bank robbery operation in Ogun State. He
was killed during a shootout with security agents while Lagos and Ogun states
celebrated.
Ossy steps in
Naturally, Ossy took charge of the creeks and
was the most respected among all other commanders in all the creeks within
Lagos and Ogun states.
For months, Ossy and others went underground
and decided to face pipeline vandalisation till the coming of military
checkpoints, which reduced the volume of products they could smuggle out of the
creeks. This development reduced their resources and forced them to resort to
kidnapping.
Quest for amnesty
Meanwhile, he made efforts to reach out to the
Federal Government requesting for amnesty and an opportunity to guard the
pipelines. To send his message across, he unleashed his boys with instruction
to attack strategic areas and schools.
His boys visited the Anglican school in
Ikorodu and the Turkish school. Their daily kidnap of residents around the
creeks and endless death of security operatives got national attention.
An air raid was organised which was reportedly
successful. Ossy who got information days before the raid quickly moved his
boys and armoury from Lagos – Ogun creeks to Ajakpa in Ondo State. He also
granted one of the national dailies an exclusive interview where he made known
his intention to drop arms.
Within the period of wait, another leader in
one of the camps, Kakadu was nabbed by the police and is now in detention.
Saturday Sun gathered that efforts were made
by the Lagos State government and security agencies to sit down with them and
find a way to convince them to give up arms. It was gathered that the last
meeting that was set up, Ossy failed to attend while Vika, another commander in
the creeks was present.
Ossy relocated to Ajakpa and left his
second-in-command ‘America’ (who is still at large) in control of Lagos and
Ogun creeks. It was ‘America’ that led the team, which attacked and killed four
policemen and an Army captain who were on a rescue mission in Ikorodu recently.
His end
Now in Ondo, Ossy refused to lie low. He went
on to attack the Ajakpa community while he resumed pipeline vandalisation in
the area. He was shot dead in the early hours of May 1, 2017 during one of his
raids.
According to a statement by Major Abdulahi
Abubakar, Coordinator, Joint media campaign center, Ossy was gunned down during
a gun duel, along with some of his gang members. Some locals in the area later
identified his body. While the search for others who jumped into the water with
gunshot wounds is ongoing, troops have recovered one AK-47 rifle and 4
magazines, the Army officer stated in their own account of what happened. He
added that in the process, one gallant soldier paid the supreme price while
three others sustained gunshot wounds.
On his final moments, Saturday Sun gathered
that Ossy decided to dare the soldiers at the military checkpoint to make a
point. Unlike him, he was said to have led his team and opened fire on soldiers
at the checkpoint in order to gain access in and out of the area where they
wanted to attack.
Initially, they ambushed the soldiers who fled
the scene and called for backup. Ossy was said to have moved in to pick arms
left behind by the fleeing soldiers when one of his boys identified as Idolo Powei
shot him.
It was when he screamed that it dawned on them
that the person who was shot was actually Ossy. This led to confusion among the
militants and while they were contemplating what to do, more soldiers stormed
the area and they fled while some of them were killed.
The rise of another notorious leader ‘America’
Although Ossy is dead, there are strong
indications in their camp that a much more deadly person, ‘America’ is battling
to take control. It was gathered that ‘America’ who was in Lagos when the
incident happened attempted to move to Ondo that night but his boat got spoilt
along the way.
Suspecting foul play in the death of Ossy, he
was said to have killed Vika, the only commander that is still hanging in the
creeks waiting for amnesty. As a result, ‘America’ gunned down Vika with the
mindset that Vika who is now in touch with the Lagos State government, could have planted a mole in the person of
Idolo Powei to assassinate Ossy since he refused to agree to the terms of
government for amnesty.
Still enraged, it was learnt that ‘America’
has sworn to avenge the death of his boss and has also declared Idolo wanted
while most of the militants who are scared of the current leadership were said
to have fled the creeks.
We will flush them all out – Police
Commending the efforts of the military in the
death of Ossy, Sun news reported that the Lagos State police spokesperson, ASP Olarinde Famous –Cole
in a text message, said that the command will continue to work with sister
agencies and community stakeholders to entirely get rid of elements that
sustain militancy and use the creeks and waterways to facilitate their
activities.
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