Rivers: Four suspected armed robbers/kidnappers meet waterloo
…As police arrest fake inspector, recover arms
Barth Ndubuwah, Port Harcourt
Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command said it has fatally wounded four armed robbery suspects/kidnappers, namely Adebayo Adebayo, John Lucas, Nnamdi Emmanuel and Ogolo Promise who attempted to escape,when they led operatives to their hideout at Aluu Community, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the State.
Briefing the Press at Police Headquarters in Port Harcourt,the Commissioner of Police(CP), Olatunji Disu said, “During the investigation, four of the suspects, John Lucas ‘m’, Nnamdi Emmanuel, m ‘, Ogolo Promise ‘m’ and Adebayo Adebayo ‘m’ led Operatives to one of their camps at Pipeline, Aluu village for the recovery of their cache of weapons.
“While approaching the camp, they came under heavy gunfire by hoodlums suspected to be fellow gang members. The suspects attempted to escape in the ensuing ambush but were caught in the crossfire,” the CP said.
They were said to have been rushed to UPTH while doctors confirmed them dead.
Their bodies were consequently deposited at the hospital’s morgue.
In a related development, a fake Police Inspector,who identified himself as Fred Monday from Luegbo in Khana Local Government Area of the State was arrested with AK-47 rifle,10 magazines and 29 round ammunition.
The CP said the fake inspector was arrested while supervising the initiation of five students of Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic into a secret cult.
“In a related development, on August 9, 2024, at about 11.45 pm, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Rivers State Police Command responded to an intelligence report of a criminal operation in Luegbo Community in Khana Local Government Area.
“On arriving at the scene, the Police met with an ongoing gruesome Cult initiation process. Five suspects, later found to be students of the Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, were arrested. The students, Mduni Clement, Prosper Wonyingipreye, Kunle Joseph, Eken Evans and Isaiah Elisha confessed to being members of the Vikings confraternity. They have been charged in court and are presently in a correctional centre.
“While carrying out the arrest of the five cultists, the Police encountered a man with them, fully dressed in Police camouflage and donning the rank of an Inspector of Police. He was armed with an AK-47 rifle, ten magazines and twenty-nine rounds of live ammunition. He was taken into custody and after interrogations, his identity was revealed as Fred Monday, a 31-year-old from Wiyakara Community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State and resident at F-man Close, Eneka Link Road, Port Harcourt.
“He confessed to being an impostor who bought the rifle in 2021 for NGN 850,000 from an accomplice, Goodluck aka Boy-J. He also bought ten magazines, thirty-one rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades from the same accomplice. He disclosed to the Police how he and other gang members would disguise themselves as Policemen to escort criminals to operate in different states, including Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta and Rivers State.
“Fred Monday is a confessed member of the Iceland cult group and has been carrying out numerous crimes using the cover of being a Policeman to terrorise his victims. He is also an armed robber who operated as a Keke (tricycle) rider during the day, scanning the area for possible victims to attack under the cover of night.
“The investigation is still on as the Police is getting closer to rounding up other members of his gang,” the CP said.
