At least seven
people have been feared dead after a gun duel between suspected pipeline
vandals and the police in Arepo community, Ifo Local Government Area of
Ogun State on Sunday.
The incident was
said to have started after the pipeline vandals attacked the security
formation guarding the pipeline area on Saturday evening.
Our correspondent
learnt from a resident that at least three of the vandals died and some
police men may have been killed after the exchange.
The resident
said, “The fire started yesterday, but the gun battle may have begun
around 3am on Sunday morning. The police and some boys within the creek
had a fire exchange and some people died.
“I am aware that three of the vandals lost their lives and some policemen are still missing.”
A security
operative told PUNCH Metro on the condition of anonymity that eight
policemen were involved in the gun battle, but four were still missing.
“While four of
them have returned to base, four others are still missing. But we want
to be careful so as not to put their family members in panic because we
have yet to ascertain their fate,” the source said.
When our
correspondent visited the site of the incident, he observed a group of
soldiers and policemen guarding the entrance to the site.
Our
correspondent, who however gained some glimpse into the vast swampy
region, saw a burgeoning fire around the pipeline tunnel, as thick smoke
billowed through the sky.
As of 2pm, when our correspondent left the scene, the flames had yet to go down and could be noticed some distance away.
The spokesperson
of the National Emergency Management Agency, South West, Ibrahim
Farinloye, said supplies had been shut down to make the fire die down.
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