• Arrest 13 suspected kidnappers

By Christopher Oji

The Lagos State Police Command has commenced total demolition of illegal structure and shanties in the riverine area of Isawo community in Ikorodu area of the state.
Two weeks ago, four police officers and one Army Captain lost their lives following an ambush by suspected militants in Isawo area.
Police operatives yesterday, commenced total demolition of the illegal waterfront shanties within the creeks where criminal elements hibernate to perpetrate their nefarious activities.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who briefed newsmen in Isawo, on the ongoing operations in the creeks by a combined team of the State Marine Police, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), mobile policemen and men from the anti-kidnapping squad, in coordination with the local vigilance group, said 13 suspected kidnappers had been arrested and are currently aiding the team to track down the remaining suspects still on the run.
Owoseni told Governor Akinwunmi Ambode: “So far, so good. We have deployed operatives in the water. What you have seen now is for us to appraise what we have done in the past one week. So, quality arrests have been made and we are talking to them. Going by the arrests we made, we believe that we will get somewhere.”
The Commissioner of Police, who was joined by the Commander, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Mr. Tunji Disu, during the demolition of the structures, said: “Earlier this morning, they were able to get to the proper camps of these criminal elements, where they saw some of them cooking food. The suspects fled immediately they saw the combined team. We just feel that we should take a decision to destroy the camps.”
Owoseni reconfirmed the killing of one of the suspected militants during a fierce encounter with the Inspector General of Police Intelligence response Team. He assured residents in the area of their safety.
He said: “We still want to assure members of the public that these people have murdered sleep and they will not sleep. We will make sure all of them are fished out and they will face the full wrath of the law.
“The 13 suspects we have are being interrogated and they are making useful statements. We are making progress and you can see that helicopter surveillance is also supporting all we are doing, but we want to assure members of the public around this axis that the government is ready; the security agents are ready to ensure that we put an end to the madness of these criminal elements.”
Owoseni said the police had gathered necessary information on the perpetrators at large, promising that they would be arrested and brought to book.