CDAs hail military operations at Arepo, Ogijo in Ogun

Community Development Associations (CDA) in communities recently ravaged by pipeline vandals between Ikorodu in Lagos State and Sagamu in Ogun have applauded Federal Government’s deployment of security forces in the area.

Some officials of the CDAs in Ikorodu on Tuesday said that the intervention of the forces had checked criminalities in the areas.

The officials suggested a permanent presence of the forces for a lasting solution to the problem of pipeline vandalism.

Mrs Ramat Momoh, the spokeswoman of Igba Otun CDA in Muti-Ereko, Sagamu, urged the Federal Government to do more by establishing a police station in one of the affected communities.

“People are still running away from the communities and parking out for fear of reprisal by the pipeline vandals.

“It is important for the government to reassure us that our safety is guaranteed with a police station built here,” she said.

Momoh noted that the activities of the vandals including killings had also affected buying and selling in the area.

Alhaji Mustapha Raji, the Vice-Chairman of Ifelodun CDA, Igboolomu in Lagos State, who also lauded the operations of the security agencies, urged government to construct a road that would link the affected communities to the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

According to him, the road will open up the area and help surveillance.

“The communities are under constant threat because of the bushes all around us … so many undeveloped plots.

“A link road from here to Ibafo, Berger and others on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway will force most land owners here to come develop their properties,” he said.

Raji urged the Lagos and Ogun Governments to collaborate and rehabilitate the road between the two states.

For Mrs Ayomide Ifekoya, the Secretary of Ayodara CDA (Ajegunle and Itaoluwo), Ogun, the military’s intervention was timely.

“Before now, the police have been on ground but many of the residents were still skeptical.

“But the recent involvement of the military and the bombardments in the last few days give us a sense of peace and sanity,” she said.

The military began bombardment of hideouts of pipeline vandals in communities around Ogijo near Sagamu and Agric area of Ikorodu on Friday.