Members of the Oodua People’s Congress and some suspected pipeline vandals have clashed in Arepo, in the Obafemi Owode area of Ogun State.It was gathered that the Wednesday clash caused pandemonium, which led to the killing of a pregnant woman, Mrs. Damilola Fajana, and another pedestrian. It was learnt that a suspected vandal had earlier been killed on Tuesday by some OPC members.

The Wednesday incident happened in the Unity Estate, around 3pm.

Information gathered that a passerby was hit by bullet in the leg and was rushed to the hospital.

When our correspondent visited the community on Thursday, he observed that all shops in the estate were locked.

The road leading to the estate was also deserted as a few motorcycle riders were seen plying the area.

Around 11am, there was panic as some women suddenly took to their heels, saying the fight had started again.

Information learnt that the clash had been on since Monday.

A resident said, “The fight has been on for some days now. It is between some Ijaw youths and OPC members that the Federal Government employed to protect pipelines.

“But yesterday (Wednesday), it took a new dimension as they faced one another in broad daylight. There was heavy exchange of gunfire.

“A pregnant woman was in a car with her husband. A bullet pierced through the windscreen and hit the woman in the neck.

“Her husband was devastated and begged people to help. The woman did not survive the gunshot. She died there. We were told she was six months pregnant.”

Another witness told our correspondent that the second victim was walking by the roadside when he was hit in the stomach by a stray bullet, which killed him.

“The man was hit in the stomach and died. Another person was hit in the leg and was rushed to a hospital,” he said.

Our correspondent learnt that the OPC members and the vandals took the battle to the premises of a primary school in the area.

A large number of people were said to have been injured during the clash.

A source told PUNCH Metro that earlier that day, the OPC members had combed some streets in the estate, searching for the suspected vandals.

He said, “They went to three different streets where the vandals usually sold fuel to residents. They met resistance on Ebute and Akinsanya streets. There was a serious clash on Ebute Street.

“It was after that clash that the OPC members launched a major offensive in the afternoon.”

Our correspondent gathered from another resident that the suspected vandals had sought to pacify the OPC members.

It was learnt that the wife of one of the suspected vandals had sought audience with the ethnic militiamen, but the meeting did not go well.

He said, “This fight started after the suspected vandals sent a woman to the OPC members so they could come to an agreement.