The Arepo area of Ogun State and some part of Lagos State came under military bombardment on Thursday.
The Armed Forces, in a joint exercise, hit the base of suspected militants in the states.
A source told Punch that the military shelled Fatola, a notorious base of the criminals.
He said, “There has been a lot of commotion. The Nigerian Air Force bombarded Fatola, in Arepo, which is the base of the militants.
“They are shelling the place with fighter jets. Some soldiers also surrounded the area to make sure that if any of the militants should run out, they would be gunned down.”
Another resident in the Imushin area of Ogun State told our correspondent that two aircraft were involved in the operation.
He said, “An aircraft had actually been surveying the creek for the past three days. But a second one joined this evening around 6pm.
“All we heard was a sudden bomb blast released from the second aircraft. But it appeared that some of the militants had fled into the bush.
“There are four major bases of the militants in the creek and they are led by two men- OC and Agbala. If the military can get these two people, then they would have succeeded in clipping the wings of the militants.”
The Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, confirmed the operation, saying it involved the army and the navy.
He said, “The military only conducts its routine operation for the purpose of denying the vandals and other criminal elements from causing terror in the area.
“The operation, codenamed, Operation Awatse, was initiated by the defence headquarters to dominate the area with a view to flushing out all manners of criminals including militants and saboteurs.
“The operation involved the joint forces of the navy and army and it has been successful.”
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