Onwuka Nzeshi
20 June 2008
Abuja — The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro yesterday paraded six crime suspects three of whom were arrested for allegedly being part of an armed gang that robbed a bullion van conveying cash and the rest for kidnapping the wife of a politician and demanding N1bn ransom.
Among those arrested in connection with the robbery were the driver of the bullion van, Benard Omenwo (33); an ex-soldier, Daniel Enweliku (32)and a staff of the Rivers State Environmental Sanitation Authority, Chijioke Steward(30).
But the trio have denied the allegations insisting that they were being framed up after the police failed to get the armed robbers who snatched the bullion van.
According to Okiro, the driver of the bullion van belonging to XL Cash Management Services, Port Harcourt, left Port Harcourt to Aba without police escort and collected a total of N437,000,000 from IBTC/Stanbic, Nigeria International Bank (NIB) and Spring Bank.
However while conveying the cash with police escort from Aba to Port Harcourt, armed bandits numbering over thirty intercepted the bullion van at Ihie village along Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway and carted away the money.
On receiving the information, Okiro said, the Rivers State Police Command dispatched a team of Police Mobile Force (PMF) and some personnel of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) to track down the robbery gang.
THISDAY learnt that the robbers were chased to Egburo village in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State where they engaged them in a gun battle. When the bandits could no longer withstand the fire power of the police, they were said to have abandoned the money and fled into the bush.
The police displayed two General Purpose Machine Guns, 1,308 7.62mm live ammunition, eight AK-47 rifles and 87 empty AK-47 magazines, which they claimed were recovered from the scene of the gunbattle. However, two buses, one jeep and a bullion van which were reportedly recovered at the scene were not brought to the Force Headquarters.
Okiro disclosed that the sum of N340m recovered from the armed robbers have since been released to the banks.
Also yesterday, the Nigeria Police paraded three young men namely Omi Fubara Allaputa (22), Manasseh Ignatius (22) and Okechukwu Nwaehihie (23), a 200 level Political Science student of the University of Port Harcourt.
The supects were alleged to had stormed Doxa Family Church, Abuloma, Port Harcourt on June 1,2008 and kidnapped Mrs Augustina Ekeuwei, wife of the Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government. The assailants who took their pregnant victim to a hideout, promptly demanded the sum of one billion naira as ransom for her release.
They were still haggling over the ransom when men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) stormed their hideout at Ahoada East Local Government Area, rescued the woman and arrested the culprits. The police said three locally made rovolver pistols and 14 rounds of ammunition, the victims jacket and car key were recovered from the suspected kidnappers.
The three kidnap suspects admitted to had played one role or the order in the kidnap drama but insisted that the chief culprit who is a cousin of the Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government have neither being arrested nor charged to court. Omi Allaputa said it was a family member who contacted them to assist him in kidnapping the woman.
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