Police arrest 9 for armed robbery, cultism in Enugu
The police Command in Enugu State have arrested nine persons for their involvement in offences of conspiracy, armed robbery, unlawful possession of firearm, cultism, and receipt of stolen property.
Their arrest was in response to the directive by the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ahmad AbdurRahman, that police operatives should up their tempo to rid the state of criminal elements.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe named the suspects as , 21-year-old Victor Obute (a.k.a. “Choiyi”) from Igbo-Etiti local government; Ebuka Omene (a.k.a. “OPEC”) aged 21 of Edemani Nsukka; Chekwube Alumona (a.k.a “Electric”) aged 22 of No. 1B Aludele Street, Nsukka; Chibuike Onoja (a.k.a. “Ginger”) aged 24 of Enugu-Ezike; and Odoh Nnaemeka (a.k.a “Pastor”) aged 24 of Enugu-Ezike.
Others are: Sunday Eze (a.k.a. “Badoo”) aged 18 of Enugu-Ezike; Chijioke Anigbogu aged 21 of Nsukka Town; Okpe Onyebuchi aged 22 and Christian Eze aged 40 both of Amalla Village in Udenu local government of the State.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Victor Obute and Ebuka Omene were arrested on August 7 by Operatives of the Command attached to Udenu Area Command who were on Stop and Search duty at Inyi, along Enugu/Makurdi Expressway.
He said the operatives recovered from the suspects one locally made pistol with two live cartridges and subsequently transferred them to the Command’s Anti-Cultism Unit for further investigation, which resulted in the arrest of Chekwube Alumona, Chibuike Onoja, Odoh Nnaemeka and Sunday Eze in Enugu-Ezike community on August 16.
Ndukwe said the suspects in the cause of preliminary investigations confessed “to being members of Vikings Confraternity and a notorious armed robbery gang operating within Igbo-Etiti/Nsukka axis of the State.”
He also said the investigation further revealed that 24-year-old Odoh Nnaemeka (a.k.a “Pastor”) made his residence the gang’s criminal hideout and venue for planning their criminal operations, while Chijioke Anigbogu, Okpe Onyebuchi and Christian Eze were recipients of the robbed motorcycles and other criminal proceeds of the gang.
The police image maker added that they recovered from the suspects a total of one locally made pistol with two live cartridges, seven motorcycles of different makes (five of them Ladies) and several parts of motorcycles.
The Police Commissioner in the state, CP Ahmad commended the Operatives for the breakthrough and charged Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, Heads of Tactical/Operational Departments and the entire Operatives of the Command to redouble their efforts at preventing and/or detecting acts of crimes and criminality in the State.
He urged residents of the State to remain law-abiding, vigilant and to continue to support the Command by promptly reporting suspected criminals and acts of criminality to the nearest Police Station.
