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Some community leaders of Isawo in Ikorodu area of Lagos have urged government to clear the creeks, saying that this would check kidnappings and other violent crimes in the area.
The residents of the creeks, bordering Lagos and Ogun States, told NAN on Sunday that criminals were using the areas as hideouts and operational bases.
Two suspects arrested in connection with the kidnapping of eight students and staff at Nigerian-Turkish International College in Ogun confessed to using the Mawere creeks for their operations.
According to Chief Musediku Ibrahim-Ayinla, the Baale of Oke-Oko Isawo near Ikorodu, many of the kidnappers operating in Lagos and Ogun were hiding in Mawere creeks.
“They were involved in NNPC pipeline vandalism before the military forced them out of Isawo in Ikorodu.
“Since they do not have access to pipelines any longer, they resorted to kidnapping people and moved to Mawere creeks in Ogun; from that creek, they can operate anywhere.
“The main threat to Lagos State and Ogun is Mawere creeks; that is where the militants are hiding now.
“And if government want to check kidnappings and robberies, all the creeks in the area should be cleared,” the community leader told NAN.
He commended the joint military task force for flushing out militants from Isawo area of Ikorodu, noting that there had been no sporadic gunshot since the military kept vigil of the area.
He also urged the Lagos State Government to fulfil its promise to construct a new road to link Isawo with Lagos – Ibadan Expressway to open up and bring development to the area.
Also, a community leader in Mawere, Oke-Oko in Ogun, Chief Taiwo Adisa, corroborated Ibrahim-Ayinla’s position, urging government to clear the creeks harbouring criminals in the area.
The chairman of commercial motorcycle operators in Isawo, Mr. Fatai Azeez, said violent crimes had reduced drastically in the areas cleared by the Lagos State Government last year.
“One thing the government must do to ensure safety of Ikorodu area is to clear all the creeks housing the militants.
“There is no more pipeline vandalism in the area that was cleared last year; more areas need to be cleared,”Azeez said.
NAN reports that more than 50 people lost lives during clashes between the militants and residents of Isawo near Ikorodu last year, leading to the deployment of troops to the area.
NAN also reports that some parts of the creeks leading to Arepo in Ogun, notorious for pipeline vandalism, were cleared by the state government last year.