There was a fierce gun battle in the early hours of today between men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps from the Ogun State Command and suspected vandals operating in Iloti, Ijebu Ode Local Government Area.
The Point correspondent gathered that the incident occurred at about 1am when armed men of the NSCDC stormed a notorious hideout of the suspected vandals in the area, following intelligence reports.
The suspected vandals who were said to be in their hideout in a large number, allegedly opened fire on sighting the civil defence operatives to evade arrest.
The exchange of gunfire between the two sides was said to have raged for some hours, forcing the suspected vandals to eventually escape through the nearby forest.
No arrest was however made by the civil defence operatives.
The sporadic gunfire was said to have caused panic amongst the residents of the area who were abruptly woken up from their sleep.
Confirming the incident, the NSCDC Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Command, Kareem Olanrewaju said the suspected vandals were trailed to the community, where they had always taken refuge.
Olanrewaju said that the aim of the operation was to dislodge the suspected vandals from their hideout.
He added that the State Commandant of the NSCDC, Aboluwoye Akinwande had ordered the corps anti-vandal team to identify and dislodge suspected vandals from their various hideouts across the state.
“The activities of the vandals have been affecting the residents of the area negatively, as they have constituted a nuisance and posed threat to the peace of the area,” the Civil Defence spokesman said.
