Popularly known as Senti, an explosive expert, Mr. Abiodun Amos, who is a suspected Niger Delta militant, has disclosed that his group planned to bomb the Third Mainland Bridge to arrest the attention of the Federal Government, New Telegraph reports
Amos, who described himself as a top commander of the militant group, confessed that he and his group had been operating from the creeks of Ikorodu and Arepo areas of Lagos and Ogun states.
The suspect, also known as Senti, an Ijaw, from Ondo State, said he was the chief expert in explosive for his group.
He was arrested by detectives attached to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT). Operatives of IRT trailed him to a river bank at the Majidun area of Ikorodu, Lagos.
The 43-year-old suspect said that his militant group was formerly into pipeline vandalism, but later veered into kidnapping after it became difficult to vandalise and sell stolen petroleum products.
He said: “We went into bank robberies and kidnapping because we wanted to get government attention.
All we wanted was for government to grant us amnesty and also offer us pipeline protection contract.
We have made several appeals, but the government appears not to be listening to us. “Ibori, our leader, said if we don’t blow up the Third Mainland Bridge, government wouldn’t listen to us. We have concluded plans to carry out the attack in November ending. I’m the group’s explosive expert.
I was arrested while going into the creek to fine tune our plan.” A police source said: “The suspect and his group were planning to bomb Third Main-land Bridge in Lagos, when police and National Security Adviser (NSA) foiled it.
Recovered from the group were two AK47 rifles, two cartons of explosives and detonators.” The police said that the suspect was arrested after several weeks of follow up. IRT operatives arrested Amos, who was one of the key members of the group.
Amos was arrested at the bank of Majidun River in Ikorodu area of Lagos on November 2, with two AK47 rifles hidden in a bag he brought from their hideout in the creek.
Working the phone recovered from him, IRT operatives started trailing some of his associates.
The police source said: “Analysis of the phone number of the Amos revealed his closed associates were in Ikorodu area of Lagos. IRT teams were deployed to Ikorodu on December 26, to apprehend one of the suspects. On
sighting IRT operatives, the suspect jumped out of his car and escaped into the bush. On searching the Toyota Camry car, two cartons of Gelatine Dynamite Explosives and hundreds of detonators were recovered in the boot of the car.
“Amos was arrested based on intelligence generated by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, which was passed on to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris. The intelligence gathering indicated that the group was at its final stage of carrying out an attack on the Third Mainland Bridge.
“The IG swiftly instructed operatives of IRT, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr. Abba Kyari, to commence full scale investigation. During investigations, it was discovered that the group was planning to blow up the bridge at the end of November. Further investigation revealed that the group has acquired large quantities of dynamite and several other explosives which would be used for the attack.”
In October, the group, known for pipeline vandalism, kidnapping and bank robberies, demanded amnesty, threatening to disrupt economic activities within Lagos and Ogun states if the Federal Government did not dialogue with it and grant its members pipeline protection contracts.
The leader of the militant group is known as General Ossy Ibori and is alleged to be behind bank robberies and several high profile kidnappings in the country.
Ibori and his group were allegedly behind the abductions of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu, four landlords at Isheri North area of Lagos, Oniba of Ibaland, Oba Goriola Oseni and several others.
Ibori was also alleged to have boasted in an interview with a national newspaper that his group had over 21 generals commanding 7,800 battle-ready men.
Ibori, it was said, boasted that his group was rich enough to fight the Federal Government as it had acquired thousands of military grade arms and ammunition, which he said would be deployed in disrupting economic activities within the two states, if government failed to dialogue with the group and grant its wishes.
The IRT operatives, trailing members of the group, made several arrests at Ikorodu area of Lagos state.
One of the suspects was said to have given the police information, which led to the tracking and subsequently trailing of Amos.
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