The Delta State Police Command has revealed the death of an armed robber and arrest of three other suspects after exchange of gunfire in Warri.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the Delta State Command, DSP. Edafe Bright, in a statement in Asaba, indicated that the DPO ‘B’ Division Warri, on Sept. 29, 2023, received a distress call about an armed robbery operation at Giwamu junction, Warri. He noted that during the attack one police undercover operative was at the scene who sighted one of the suspects and later trailed him to a Suya spot at Enerhen Junction.
Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass
DSP Bright said that the DPO ‘B’ Warri, SP Bolarinwa Alabi, acting on the directive of the Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, embarked on an intelligence-led operation with his men and arrested one Gift Peace ‘m’ aged 14 years at the said Suya spot at Enerhen junction.
He said that the teenager confessed to being a member of an armed robbery gang that terrorizes Warri and its environs; and that he has been in the act since he was seven years old. He mentioned other members and thus took the detectives to their hideout, Bright said.
Weapons recovered from the armed robbers
The PPRO narrated that “the gang members, upon sighting the police, opened fire from their unregistered operational tricycle, and due response was given to their hostility.”
Bright stated that in the process, one of the suspects, who was later identified as the leader of the gang, sustained serious gunshot injuries while others escaped.
Local pistol the Police recovered from the armed robbers
The suspect, the PPRO said, was taken to the hospital where he was eventually confirmed dead by the doctor.
According to the PPRO, “the exhibit recovered include the following: the operational tricycle of the gang, one locally made cut-to-size single barrel gun with stocked expended cartridges, and three live cartridges.”
Bright disclosed that two male gang members: Idigbe Osreis (19) and Idigbe Perfect (16), were later arrested at their hideout.
Efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing member, and also to recover more of their operation arms, the PPRO said.
The Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, while emphasizing the necessity of adequate parenting essentially in the fight against crime, advised that parents should be alive to their responsibilities, and safeguard the future of their wards by monitoring and teaching them valuable precautionary lessons that will help them avoid bad companies and hence stay away from criminal activities.