Residents flee as Soldiers/Militants clash in Ondo community
No fewer than three soldiers and 15 members of the militant group lost their lives while several others were seriously injured in a gun battle which occurred on Monday.
The leader of the militant group, Ossy Ibori, was also killed in the battle.
But the Coordinator of the Joint Media Centre, Abubakar Abdullah, said in a statement that one soldier was killed in the battle.
A source in the community disclosed that some residents had been relocating from the battle-ground community to neighbouring communities.
The source said, “Many people have been leaving the community because of fear of stray bullets. No one knew that the notorious militant leader and his group were in the creek of the community.
“The incident has caused tension in the area. People are running away.”
The source added that there was heavy presence of the security agents in the area.
The military men were said to be searching for other members of the militant group who might still be hiding in the creek.
It was also gathered that the officers and men of the 32 Artillery Brigade of the Nigeria Army in Akure had moved to the area to join other sister security agencies in search of the fleeing militants.
Speaking with our correspondent, the Public Relations Officer of the brigade, Captain Ojo Adelegan, said there was no tension in the area.
On the residents fleeing the communities, Adelegan said, “It is not impossible to have such a thing in a circumstance like this, but I think we are there to ensure that peace returns to the area and that is what we are doing right now.”
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