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.
via nigerianeye
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