The notorious terrorists den uncovered recently in Lagos belongs to the Bayelsa State Government, the Ojora of Ijora, Fatai Aromire, said on Tuesday.
The monarch who was addressing a delegation from the Hausa community in the area who called on him, said the house where nine suspected terrorists, including a Chadian, were arrested is located in Ijora-Badia in Lagos.
“Discovery of such factory in Ijora was very sad to me and the entire family of Ojora,” the monarch was quoted by The Nation Newspaper as saying. “It was God that saved the whole Lagos because the attack was meant to destroy the state as a whole and not Ijora alone.”
Warning the delegation to be very watchful of their environment and the activities of people around them, the Ojora said Lagos is a no-go area for miscreants, pointing out that although the arrested suspected terrorists were reported to be Malians and Chadians, they resided among people in the area.
“Please, talk to your people and call them to order because if they do not desist from harbouring strange persons, the result will be disastrous for them. I also want to say that the blame should also go to the Bayelsa State government for not taking care of their abandoned house where the evil doers are using as their hideout,” he said.
According to him, his Council has been talking to the Bayelsa State government for a very long time to come and lease the building out to people that would make use of it but they refused.
Mr. Aromire said that a lot of effort was being put to work with the Divisional Police authorities and other government agencies in this area to ensure security by either demolishing the building or give it to the people that will make use of it.
The Bayelsa State Government is yet to react to the monarch’s claims.
Afenifere reacts
Meanwhile, the pan Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, has joined other concerned Nigerians to call on both the Lagos State and the Federal Government to launch a full-scale investigation into the claim by the traditional ruler to unravel the truth and bring the culprits to book.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, the group said that claim by the Ojora raises a red flag that cannot be ignored given the psychological warfare that has been waged against Yorubaland of possible terror attack for about a year now.
According to the group, what has largely been perceived as a threat is assuming a near reality with the discovery of this terror hideout. It added that it has been compelled to call for a thorough investigation of this incident to ascertain who the suspects are and what links they have with the dreaded Boko Haram or army.
The group would also wants to know why the Bayelsa State Government would maintain an abandoned property in Ijora-Badia of all places in Lagos and would not want to give it out to those interested in using the place.
“The veracity of claims that the Bayelsa State Government has been approached several times by the community to demolish the house or give it to people who may use it without any response is very important at this time.
“A satisfactory explanation would dispel the conspiracy theory that Boko Haram may have become a franchise under which fifth columnists may be operating to disrupt the peace of Yorubaland and instigate a national crisis with our land as a possible battle ground.” Afenifere said.
It threatened that it would not accept any shoddy handling of this case as has happened to many of such incidents in recent times with suspects paraded and nothing heard later. It warned all agents of terror to stay away from the Yoruba nation in order not to invoke “the wrath of our ancestors.”
“Yoruba people are peace-loving and our land a place where people from all nationalities from Nigeria are at home without any fear of molestation. Any group or individuals who want to shatter the peace of the region can only meet their Waterloo. Finally, we call on our people to be vigilant at all times and report suspicious movements to the appreciate authority,” the group said
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