•Arms recovered
A leader of a suspected teenage armed robbery gang on Friday, September 29, 2023, sustained gunshot injury during an exchange of gunfire with operatives in Delta State Police Command, resulting in his eventual death.
Three other teenage gang members were also arrested, while two guns and the their operational tricycle were recovered.
The incident was confirmed by the command’s spokesman, DSP Bright Edafe,in a statement on Tuesday, October 3.
Edafe said that prior to the encounter with the suspects, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of ‘B’ Division, Warri, got a call reporting an armed robbery operation at Giwamu junction, Warri.
He stated that during the attack, a police undercover operative who was at the scene sighted one of the suspects and later trailed him to a suya (grilled meat) spot at Enerhen Junction.
The PPRO spoke further: “The DPO ‘B’ Warr, SP Bolarinwa Alabi, acting on the directive of the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Wale Abass, embarked on an intelligence-led operation alongside his men and arrested one Gift (surname withheld), aged 14 years, at the said Suya spot at Enerhen junction.
“The teenager confessed to being a member of an armed robbery gang terrorising Warri and its environs, and that he had been in the act since he was seven years old.
“He mentioned other members and took the detectives to their hideout. The gang members, on sighting the police, opened fire from their unregistered operational tricycle and due response was given to their hostility. In the process, one of the suspects who was later identified as the leader of the gang sustained serious gunshot injuries while others escaped.
“He was taken to the hospital where he was eventually confirmed dead by the doctor.”
The exhibits said to have been recovered from the suspects included the their operational tricycle, a locally made cut-to-size single barrel gun with stocked expended cartridges and three live cartridges.
DSP Edafe added that two male gang members – Osreis, aged 19, and Perfect, 16 years old (surnames withheld) – were later arrested at their hideout, in addition to Gift who was initially apprehended.
The police spokesman said that efforts were ongoing to arrest the fleeing member and recover more of their arms.
In his comment, the Commissioner of Police emphasised the need for adequate parenting in the fight against crime.
The police commissioner advised parents to be alive to their responsibilities and safeguard the future of their wards by monitoring and teaching them valuable precautionary lessons that would help in avoiding bad companies and staying away from criminal activities.
