OGHENETEJIRI NYERHOVWO

A deadly armed robbery gang comprising of a dismissed police officer and three serving policemen that specializes in hijack of petroleum tankers on the highways and other criminal activities have been nabbed by the police in Delta State.

Also in police net are eleven suspects arrested for armed robbery, twenty three for kidnapping ,twenty one for cultism and two arrested for murder.

Parading the suspects before newsmen in Asaba, Mr. Zanna Mohammed, a Commissioner of a Police, Delta State Police  Command said that they were all arrested between the 15th of June 2017 and 23rd of July,2017.

Speaking on how the alleged kingpins of armed robbery cum hijack gang were arrested, the Delta State Police boss said, ” on June 21, 2017, the victim  loaded PMS product in his truck with registration  No 960 Delta from Oghara and was heading to Onitsha, Anambra State. On getting to the boundary between Edo/Delta, by Alifikide/Agbor expressway, the truck was stopped by the suspects who were armed, pretending to be men of the anti-vandal team, and then hijacked  the truck, handcuffed the driver and the conductor, pushed them out of the truck and abandoned them in the bush and took the truck with the product to Abavo community in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, sold the product to one Prince Innocent Obaseki, a petrol marketer and abandoned the hijacked truck on  Ute-Okpu Road in Ika North East Local Government Area Delta State.”

According to Mr. Zanna, “fortunately, the phone of the kingpin of the gang named Kingsley Ochei, a dismissed police officer was recovered  at the scene. SARs men immediately swung into action and arrested the above named  kingpin Kinsley Ochei. He confessed  and mentioned other five suspects, namely : Ndubisi Okolie, Sgt. Nwankem Ebonzim, Prine Innocent Obaseki, Sgt. Michael Chima and Sgt. Christopher Onyeghor who were subsequently arrested. The serving policemen will be internally disciplined, dismissed  and subsequently prosecuted”.

Speaking further on the kiidnap suspects, the Delta State boss disclosed that Eyemi Eunice and Ejoke Sunday were arrested in the case of Mrs. Sakpra Tessy who was kidnapped by five armed  men along Udu Road Ovwian-Aladja while ten other suspects namely; Ejoke Kelly Omoise,  Matthew  Orobote, Godwin Ohwoesiri, Bright Pius, Lucky Godwin, Edo Kingsley, Remember Ikoro, Ese Egone, Osayande Ogie and Braimoh Innocent were arrested in connection with the kidnap of one Mrs Rose Egokawhere  who was on her way to the church along Court Road, near Water Resources Warri.

Other kidnap, robbery and cultism suspects arrested during the period under review according to the Commissioner of Police, are being investigated saying that they would be prosecuted on completion of investigations.