Nigeria’s military has confirmed that it carried out an air strike yesterday on a base of oil militants in the Arepo area in south-western Ogun State.
Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar declined to say how many people killed in the strike, and insisted that only armed men had been targeted.
But Elombah.com learnt at least 114 militants were killed and scores of others injured in attacks on their camps in Ogun and Lagos states.
The attacks by the Army, Air Force and Navy, began on Thursday night under the operation “Crocodile Laugh” in readiness for a confrontation with militants in the Niger Delta.
This morning, residents reported seeing a convoy of military vehicles going into the Arepo area – access to which has been restricted.
Militants have been demanding that the government spend more of Nigeria’s oil wealth on poor communities in the oil-producing south.
The attacks reportedly sent the local residents scampering, but they have been assured of safety and advised against sheltering any of the fleeing militants.
The creeks in Lagos and Ogun states recently became a safe haven and operational hideout for militants from Niger Delta.
Besides oil pipeline vandalism and petroleum theft in Arepo in Ogun State and parts of Lagos, the militants have been attacking innocent residents and stealing from them.