Policemen and some members of the Oodu’a Peoples Congress (OPC) engaged suspected Niger Delta militants in a gun battle in Ewedogbon, a riverine community in Igando-Ikotun local council development area of Lagos, on Tuesday. The exchange of gunfire, which lasted for hours, created tension in the community and forced residents to abandon their homes even after the gun battle had subsided. Residents said the militants stormed the community on Sunday evening, but only kidnapped a woman, who was returned around 3am on Tuesday. The victim was believed to have been raped, since she was freed without any demand for ransom. “There has been tension since they kidnapped a young lady from this area on Sunday night,” a landlord in the area, who refused to disclose his identity, said. “We just noticed strange movements on that particular day, and we had been suspecting that they would return anytime soon. They brought back the lady around 3am today. It’s not as if they contacted her family...