According to Daily Sun, heavily armed suspected pipeline vandals yesterday took over the Arepo community in Ogun State following Wednesday’s fire out-break that killed over 100 of their members.
This is even as two photojournalists from The Sun and The Nation, Omoniyi Ayedun and Solomon Adeola respectively, who were at the scene yesterday narrowly escaped death by the whiskers. They were abducted by the vandals who mistook them for security operatives. They were brutalized and released when the vandals realized that they were not armed. There were no securitymen on the site. yesterday as the vandals continued to operate freely.
At least, 100 suspected vandals were on Wednesday roasted to death along Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline at Arepo.
Wednesday’s fire victims were scooping fuel from the NNPC at about 2am when one of them was said to have lit a fire.
Mr. Ayedun of The Sun, spoke from his hospital bed. He said they were abducted by heavily armed vandals as soon as they alighted from the motorcycle that took them to the scene. “I was sent to get a good shot of the scene. On getting there at about 10am with one of my colleagues from The Nation, we were accosted by heavily armed men, who attacked and seized our cameras. They dragged us into the creek. They said we were sent by the government to expose their faces to the world.
“They stripped us naked, blindfolded and bundled us into a speedboat before heading to an island where they berthed. We met more than 300 heavily armed men at the island. Most of them were dressed in police and Army uniforms. The beat the hell out of us, demanding to know why we came to spoil business for them.
“The vandals bragged that they had killed several soldiers and policemen with ease, wondering why little brats like us dared to venture into their territory.
“We prayed and begged them to spare us as we were mere journalists. They told us to say our last prayers and prepare to die. We kept begging till one of their leaders who saw our Identity Cards, told them to let us go since we were not armed.
They gave us N500 and took us across to the Mainland. They threatened that if they ever set eyes on us in that island or within Arepo area again, they we will cut us into pieces and our bodies scattered inside the river,” Omoniyi narrated.
Earlier, Crime Watch Today visited Arepo and observed that there was no securitymen guarding the area.
Daily Sun reports that there were journalists and some daring residents who came out to watch the vandals carry their dead.
Armed with AK 47 rifles, the vandals mobilised and moved into the estate in protest against what they claimed was disrespect for their fallen colleagues by the residents who ran back to their houses and observed from a safe distance. (Daily Sun. Image: Daily Sun)