As security
operatives intensify efforts to rescue the six secondary school students of
Lagos state Model College, Igbo Nla, in Epe area, Saturday Sun has learnt that
the
abducted students are currently camped in Imobi creek between Lagos and
Ogun State.
It was
learnt that apart from the six students, eight other unidentified persons were
picked on the same night. Although the kidnappers are yet to get in touch with
families of the victims or the school as at press time, it was gathered that
the raid was led by the current militant
commander popularly called ‘America’. He
assumed leadership in the creeks following the death of his boss, the notorious
Ossy Ibori.
He was
alleged to have killed Vika, the only commander who was still hanging in the
creeks waiting for amnesty. Amongsseveral other successful operations,
’America’ was the one who led the gang which picked eight students and staff at
Turkish School in Ogun State last year after which N50million was paid to
secure the release of the victims. He was the one who ambushed and killed five
policemen and a soldier in Ikorodu recently.
Saturday Sun
had recently reported the emergence of America as the new king of the creeks.
This paper had also exclusively reported the plot by the militants to attack
Lagos and Ogun states, with schools as their targets.
The kidnap
On how the
kidnap was perfected , Saturday Sun reliably learnt ‘America’ who is determined to enlarge his
financial base unleashed his boys on the neighbouring communities around the
creeks.
Earlier last
week, they visited banks in the Island and schools, which the dead leader Ossy
Ibori had penciled down for attack. He divided his boys into three and
unleashed them on Epe community while he waited in the boat.
As soon as
the students and several others were
brought to the boat, he discovered that the boat was sinking and could not
carry the number of persons abducted, due to size and an engine fault.
He ordered
his boys to keep them in the bush pending when he would return with another
boat. They thereafter left them in that bush
at Obalaye junction, near Sagamu till 9pm same Thursday when ‘America’
came with a bigger boat and ferried them to another location.
Parents
express anger, plead for help
In the
community yesterday, large numbers of vehicles were seen moving in and out of
the only road to Igbonla community with signs of apprehension on the faces of
the occupants in the vehicles.
Those coming
out had students in school uniforms and carrying their bags while those moving in were seen heading for
the school to pick their children and wards.
Inside the
school compound, parents and guardians were seen on the queue with their
children and wards making some documentations and clarification to ensure that
the students were left in the hands of appropriate persons.
Those left
in the school had the gates of their hostels locked up under the watchful eyes
of their instructors and the police.
A parent,
Pastor Samuel Akinola lamented that similar incident happened last year and
there was need for the state government to provide enhanced security for the
students.
“It is embarrassing
if you can walk down there to see how they broke into the school through the
fence. These are children and I beg the government to ensure tighter security
because these are our future, they are our tomorrow. If the security is better,
parents will bring back their children’’
Two mothers
of some of the students reluctantly spoke in annoyance and expressed
dissatisfaction with the situation.
“You don’t
need to interview us because this is not the first time something like this is
happening and they should have done something about it.
We are not
happy with the situation and we don’t know if we can bring them back to this
school even if the security is better”, one of the women who declined giving
her name stated.
Another
parent, Mrs. Bolaji Eniola noted that her children were yet to overcome the
trauma they passed through during the previous incident. “It is very very bad
and it is giving the children bigger trauma and now another one, what is
happening?
We cannot
keep our children where it is not safe and I don’t know if I can bring them
back to this school”
Mrs. Deola Daudu frowned at the lapses around the
school which she said needed to be addressed urgently. “I am not happy with the
situation because in such an environment, the children are here and there is no
patrol van moving up and down. Right from when you are coming from the road,
there is no light and you see some of the poles have broken and they needed to
be repaired.
“The fences
are even dwarf fences and see the environment our children are living in and I
don’t know why we should bring our children here to suffer.
But if the
security is tighter I can bring my children back here because of the quality of
education. This place has become an attraction for these hoodlums who will just
come and kidnap children and be demanding ransom, only God knows how the
children would be feeling now because I can feel the way their parents will be
feeling.’’
A former
vice principal of the school, Mr. Simon Agunbeso who came to pick his ward said
the situation was appalling and advised that “the task of securing the school
should not be left only in the hands of the police. All my children attended
this school and I worked here for 13 years before I was transferred to Lekki
area.
It is not
encouraging but disappointing. I know the worth of a model school and that is
why I will bring my wards back here if the security is improved upon. It seems
some group of people wanted to run down this school
‘’The
government should beef up security and I will advise that soldiers be
permanently drafted here may be like two hundred of them and be fed by the
state government’’
One of the
parents whose son survived the attack lamented that some the kids who were
taken are children of civil servants who are managing to give their children
decent education.
We’ll rescue
them – IGP
Inspector-General
Of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris has vowed that the police would rescue the school
children abducted by suspected militants in Lagos State Junior and Senior
College Igbo Nla area of Epe.
The IGP, who
spoke yesterday during the closing ceremony of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
Mentorship Training Course organised for the EOD personnel by the United
States Embassy at Ikeja, Lagos, said in
no distant time the children would be rescued and those who abducted them
fished out and made to face the wrath of the law.
The IGP ,who
was represented by the Deputy Inspector General
Police in charge of operations,
Mr Joshak Habila, said: “we are on top of the situation. Crime is bound to
happen and when it happens, what we should concern ourselves with is how to
solve the problem and that is what we
are doing. We are not joking and you know that we are very serious when it
comes to crime fighting, especiallly kidnapping. It is on record that we have
cracked high profile kidnappings and arrested the kidnappers. This one is not a
different case. We are working round the clock and synergising with sister
agencies on how to rescue the children and arrest those behind the dastardly
act.
Spokesman of
the Lagos police, ASP Olarinde Famous –Cole admitted that the state command is now
aware of the person who picked the school children, even as efforts are on
ground to ensure their safe return.
“At 5am,
Pirates/Kidnappers gained entrance into Igbonla Model School, near Epe and
abducted six students. Investigation and
rescue operations have commenced with the visit to the affected School by a
Police team, led by the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Fatai Owoseni.
“From the
visit, it was found that the criminal elements used the Imeru/Iji waterway to
access the swampy forest bordering the school, bore a hole on a part of the
school fence to gain entrance. The dastardly act of these criminal elements is
nothing other than sheer wickedness as there is no justification whatsoever to
abduct innocent children”, he stated.
Meanwhile a reliable
source at the Epe police division said that security operatives can do little
or nothing about the incident but to wait and negotiate with the kidnappers.
“ There is
nothing anyone can do but to wait till the suspects release the students. Entering the creeks will be suicidal because
there is nothing like element of surprise. No one believed they could attack a
government school that was why little or no relevance was attacked to the
school when we got information that they were likely going to attack. It is not
true that a letter was given to the school. If there was such, the police
command was not alerted.
“There are
other big schools in Epe, we felt that those should be their target, that is
one of the reasons the division was caughtunawares.
They also
tried to pick one of the traditional rulers in the area but failed because our
men who were alerted stopped them,” he said.
SUN NEWS
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