The Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has said three of its men are yet to be found four weeks after an operation in which alleged pipeline vandals attacked the officers.
According to reports, the NSCDC officers were ambushed on January 27, during an operation involving oil vandals in Owutu, Ikorodu area of Lagos.
The suspected vandals on January 28, who brandished pump-action rifles, attacked the Owutu Police Division in the process, killing two policemen and a civilian.
It was gathered that some of the relatives of the missing officers have been told not to panic.
According to an NSCDC official who pleaded anonymity, “Apart from their immediate families ─ wife and children, we have not briefed other relatives on the situation so that they will not panic.
“The idea is to make it easy for security agencies to continue their investigations without any pressure from the relatives of the officers.
“During that incident, some other officers were injured because the vandals came with heavy weapons and resisted both the police and the NSCDC men.”
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer, NSCDC Lagos State Command, Chibuzor Mefor, has disclosed that the command in search of the missing officers, has entered into partnership with other security agencies.
“We have yet to find three of our men that went for that operation. The area is a swampy area, a very difficult terrain, but we are getting assistance from the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Army and the police to locate them,” Mefor said.
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