There are indications that some insurgents, who are said to be behind the recent attacks on communities in Lagos and Ogun states have fled to Ondo State.
The militants have reportedly relocated to riverine communities in the Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas of the state.
Punch reports that the insurgents, who escaped the intensified aerial bombardment by the Nigerian Air Force in their camps at Arepo, Ogun, and Ikorodu, Lagos, have been sighted in Ore, Okitipupa and the riverine communities of Ondo State.
The paper quoted top security sources as saying that ‘‘Arepo can no longer contain them. Some of them have ran to Ondo to hide in the riverine areas.’’
However, some of them were still trapped in Arepo and other communities in Lagos and were making frantic efforts to escape.
Another source in Ese-Odo said since the military started the bombardment of the militants’ camps on Friday, many of them had fled and regrouped in Ondo State.
The source said, “We have sighted them in some communities here. It seems Arepo is too hot for them.”
“Ore is a commercial town with people from various tribes here. It is possible for strange people to come and hide here,’’ he said.
But the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force, Group Capt. Ayodele Famuyiwa, said the vandals were seen together on Sunday, probably to perfect a plan to run.
He said, “They are almost out of Arepo, an area where they had consolidated their position. Maybe, it is so strategic to them because even in the night, they tried to come back; when we did night flying, the cameras still picked them.
“We see them coming together as if they wanted to hold meetings, maybe to run away during the day.
“Some of them tried to run into the mangrove. You know that place is very thick and that is why our operation is going to continue until we flush them out completely.”
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