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The member representing Epe Constituency 2 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Segun Olulade, has condemned the killing of about 10 operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) by suspected pipeline vandals in Ikorodu area of the state.
Hon. Olulade, while reacting to the sad incident, which occurred on Tuesday evening, described the pipeline vandals’ act as “gruesome and wicked”, noting that the vandals are gradually becoming a “threat to the state.”
According to media reports, the vandals were said to have engaged the DSS operatives, who came to the area after been hinted that the vandals were siphoning fuel from a broken pipe of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Report also has it that the Tuesday’s incident, which occurred at about 8pm, was the second in two weeks. The vandals were said to have attacked four policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and Owutu Police Division on August 30, 2015 in which three of the policemen lost their lives while one was critically injured.
The lawmaker, in his reaction, maintained that the activities of these pipeline vandals are beginning to pose great dangers to the lives of Nigerians, especially, those residing in areas where petroleum pipelines are sited.
He, however, called on the relevant security agencies, especially the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, to rise up to the occasion and ensure that they commence full investigation into the killing of the DSS operatives and that of the policemen, who were killed last month.
“The police and other relevant security agencies must swing into action by commencing investigation into these recent killings and those that have happened before now as a result of the activities of these hoodlums involved in bunkering.
“However, in carrying out these investigations, the security agencies must be very careful and ensure that innocent residents are not harassed or victmised. Also residents of these areas where this illegal activity is taking place must ensure that they cooperate with the police and provide necessary information that would help in apprehending these perpetrators,” Olulade stated.
The lawmaker also commiserated with the DSS over the loss of their men, praying that God Almighty will grant the families fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. “I pray that God will console the families of those that were involved in the recent incident,” he added.
