The Edo State Police Command has recovered a huge assortment of weapons allegedly used by criminals in and around the state.
Not too long ago, the state was awash
with violent crimes, including kidnapping and robbery. At the height of
it, suspected criminals waylaid and killed an operative of the
Department of State Security Service.
So brazen were the criminals that they
put their would-be victims on notice, as was the case with a popular
bishop in Benin, whose identity is shielded because of the security
implications.
The bishop summoned courage and
complained to the police of the threat messages and calls he was
receiving from strange phone numbers, threatening that he would be
kidnapped.
True enough, the police swung into
action and arrested one Roland Aregbo (28), on May 3, who the command
said was helping in its investigations.
Announcing the recovery of a cache of
arms in the state in the last two months, Edo State Commissioner of
Police, Foluso Adebanjo, said he had warned criminals to either relocate
from the state or shun criminality completely if they must remain.
Adebanjo said those who refused to heed
to the call would have themselves to blame as the command would continue
to go after them.
He said the command arrested scores of
suspected kidnappers, including “six high calibre dangerous suspects,”
and recovered weapons used in carrying out their nefarious activities,
including 113 AK-47 rifle magazines and seven boxes containing 6,300
AK-47 live ammunition.
The CP said some of the measures
deployed by the command included raiding of suspected criminal hideouts
and swift mobilisation to crime scenes.
According to him, the police made
several other raids and recovered the following items; a locally-made
submachine gun, seven cut-to-size guns, one pump action gun, one
single-barrelled gun, live cartridges, one Audi car, an ash colour Honda
Civic car with registration no: Lagos DE 829 LND, a Toyota Hilux van
belonging to Reynolds Construction Company Limited, with registration
no: Lagos LND 631 XD, cutlasses and wraps of weeds suspected to be
Indian hemp.
He said the command killed two armed
robbery suspects, who were part of a seven-member gang that barricaded
the Benin-Auchi-Okene Express Road.
He said the police in response to a
distress call, accosted the suspected armed robbers, who he said engaged
his men in an exchange of gunfire, where two of the suspected criminals
were gunned down.
He said, “It is our collective concern
to ensure safety of lives and property in the state. The command has in
the last two months put in place measures to ensure that the state is
unsafe for criminals.
“On Monday, suspected armed robbers
alleged to have barricaded the busy Benin-Auchi-Okenne Express Road were
shot dead by men of the Edo State Police Command. The heavily armed men
numbering seven engaged the police, who were on a distress call, in a
gun battle, following which two were killed while others escaped into
the bush.
“The hoodlums attacked some commercial
buses and their passengers at the Iruekpen-Ehor area of the road, where
they robbed the passengers of their money, mobile phones and other
personal items.
“During the operation, a distress call
was sent to the police control room in Benin, the policemen moved
swiftly to the scene, but upon sighting the police, the hoodlums opened
fire. Police, however, retaliated, leading to the death of two of the
hoodlums.
“Some items recovered from them included
N32,583 cash, a First Bank ATM card, a voter card belonging to Isioma
Eyemolu Mercy, a mask, cutlasses, daggers, a touch light and bags
containing victims’ clothes.
“The police then combed the bush where
stains of blood littered the area, an indication that some of them
escaped with bullet wounds.”
The commissioner directed all Divisional
Police Officers in the state, whose jurisdiction falls on any of the
expressway, to ensure adequate security of the roads through regular and
intensive police patrols.
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