Two persons were yesterday feared killed and five others injured during a gun battle between security operatives and pipeline vandals in Lagos.
Residents of Seventh Avenue in Festac Town and environs were woken up by the booming guns.
Many thought it was another robbery. Last month, robbers raided two banks and wreaked havoc on the area. A woman and her daughter were killed by stray bullets.
To avoid being hit by stray bullets, the residents were said to have laid on the floor.
But, a motorcyclist, Stephen Manga, and his roommate, Joseph Zira, were but on their legs by a stray bullet inside their apartment.
Three soldiers also sustained leg injuries; a vandal was killed and several others escaped with gunshot wounds.
The Nation learnt that a Mobile Policeman was killed by some of the fleeing hoodlums around Alakija, after they snatched a commercial bus and forced the driver to whisk them away.
Manga, who said they were held hostage by the vandals until soldiers arrived, claimed that the shooting lasted over four hours.
He said the vandals were up to 50 and hooded. Some, he added, dressed in Army camouflage.
“We stay in that Pako near where those people usually steal fuel beside Elcee events Centre, Fourth Avenue by Seventh Avenue. Our house is built with stick and many of us live there.
“We started hearing gunshots around 4:41am. We did not know what was happening and we could not come out. Everyone was in their own room and I was in my room with my friend, Joseph. We were lying down beside each other with our legs facing the road.
“The shooting continued with the vandals talking to themselves. I don’t think the army was there at that time.
“But around 7am, some army people ran to our place and the next thing, bullet hit my leg, came out from the other side and entered my friend’s leg too and came out.
“We were bleeding and the army people directed us to a hospital. Our brothers, who also live in the place, saw the bullet. They picked it and gave it to the soldiers. The bullet looks white and not very big.
“So, as they told us to go to the hospital, they also chased everyone from the place. They helped us live so that those people won’t kill us all.
“At first I was taken to Mercy Gate Hospital but they refused to treat me until the army people called and spoke with them on phone and my people also went and brought police report from Area E Command.
“The hospital did not treat my brother because of money. My brother went to another place where he was treated,” said Manga.
Another resident, who gave his name as Munyale Kwada, said the hoodlums initially overpowered the army.
Kwada said the army went for reinforcement, brought in three armoured tanks and engaged the bandits who were already chanting victory songs.
He said: “We were trapped in the shooting by the criminals until the army came and rescued us.
“The thieves were shooting for about two hours. When the army came, they told us to remain inside and that no one should come out.
“The boys were many. I heard army people telling their colleagues that they should go because the boys were many and three soldiers have been injured.
“When the army left, the criminals started singing. They were singing and shooting. They covered everywhere up to W Close on Seventh Avenue. They blocked the entire road and were shooting continuously.
“So, army came back reinforced and with three armoured tanks. The shooting continued till about 8am when the vandals ran away.
“Since the time the vandals left, army and police have taken over the entire area. They have put road blocks and they do not allow people to come near that area again because of danger.
“I know they arrested someone but I don’t know who the person is. I heard the army shouting at someone to enter the vehicle.
“Also we later heard that the vandals hijacked a Danfo bus, forced the driver and one passenger to carry 10 of them who were in military camouflage and they ran away.
“We also heard that the bus killed a Mobile Police man around Alakija. And that the vandals also hijacked a Sienna space bus from the owner.”
One Ife Igwebuike told The Nation that the hoodlums arrived in the area around 3am and were siphoning petroleum products.
She said the police alerted the military and requested assistance because they could not face the vandals.
“One vandal was shot dead and the rest ran away with barrels of crude oil and some gun wounds. The army men tried a lot and none of the soldiers was killed,” she said.
Another resident, Andre Ogodo said, a stray bullet entered his apartment.
“I started hearing gunshots just before 7am. I ignored them, thinking they were sounds of fireworks. Five minutes later, I heard sirens and more gun fire.
“On my way to the bathroom, I saw a hole in the window blinds covering the window at the stairwell.
“That’s when I realised it really was gun fire. The hole was most likely made by a stray bullet. The wall directly opposite the window blinds had a crack as well, in tandem with the hole in the blinds.
“I promptly returned to my room and laid low till the shooting died down. The streets were unusually quiet,” he said.
Lagos State Police Command spokesman Joseph Offor, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said there were no casualties.
He said there was heavy deployment of soldiers and police, assuring the residents of their safety.
“Following sporadic shooting by the hoodlums in the creek of FESTAC early hours of Tuesday November 17, residents of the area are advised not to panic as there has been heavy deployment of soldiers and the police.
‘’No policeman was killed. No vandal was shot dead. No one, soldiers or residents sustained any form of injury. Nothing like that happened.
“Within the period, some exercises may be going on in readiness for any untoward attack from the hoodlums.
“Residents are advised to go about their lawful businesses without any fear as the command and sister security agencies are on top of the situation,” Offor said.
