· 'DPO murdered 2 days after resuming duty in new station'
In what seemed like an act in a Nollywood crime movie, gunmen, suspected to be kidnappers, laid an ambush for a team of police officers on a rescue operation, sent a senior police officer to an untimely death, maimed others, and disappeared into thin air.
What materialized last week in Delta State had all the trappings of make-believe, but it was not a big screen shoot, it was real.
In the early hours of Monday, at about 1.00 am, a group of daring abductors, who knew that police officers were tracking them, laid in wait for the law enforcement agents on a rescue operation, near a train station at Agbarho community, opened fire on the team, and shot dead a newly-posted Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Agbarho Police Division.
The slain DPO, according to reports, had resumed duty in Agbarho two days before his untimely death.
The gunmen also shot and injured the DPO, Orerokpe Police Division, CSP Paul Oboware, and other police officers involved in a rescue operation. They were hospitalized at the time of this report.
Almost a week after the hair-raising incident, there was no clue on the whereabouts of the hostage takers, but a combined team of police and soldiers have been deployed to track them down.
The episode has sent shockwaves down the spine of residents, who have been subjected to the impunity of kidnappers in various parts of the state in recent months.
Account
An account of the chilling incident said: "The DPO, Agbarho got a call from his colleague in Orerokpe that a Sienna vehicle the Orerokpe police were tracking was in Agbarho. And they were coming for it. They said the vehicle was used by kidnappers and carrying the hostage.
"The DPO Agbarho joined his colleague and headed to where the tracked vehicle was around the Railway Flyover Bridge on the Agbarho - Ughelli end of the East-West Road.
"Before they got there (flyover bridge), the suspected kidnappers, who suspected that police officers might have demobilized the car, had alighted from their vehicle. They left the hostage in the car and climbed the flyover, waiting for the police officers.
"Unknown to the police officers tracking the car, the kidnappers had taken a strategic position on the bridge, the DPO and his colleagues drove close to the demobilized vehicle.
"From the top of the bridge, the kidnappers audaciously started shooting sporadically at the vehicle conveying the DPO and his colleagues.
"The DPOs and their team tried to reverse but were not lucky. The bullets picked one of them around the abdomen and the other around his neck region..."
Died on the spot
Another source disclosed: "The DPO, CSP Hassan Nasir Jega, got a distress call at about 10:40 p.m. on Sunday that a Hilux snatched in Sapele was tracked to Agbarho, and he was called by his colleague from the Orerokpe Police Division for backup.
"The DPO Agbarho volunteered to accompany his team and colleague in chasing the hoodlums when the unfortunate incident occurred.
"They ran into the hoodlums at the Unity School Junction, Agbarho where they encountered them, and the Agbarho DPO was shot in his stomach. He died on the spot while his colleague DPO from Orerokpe, CSP Paul Oboware, was shot in the neck and rushed to an unknown hospital for treatment.
"The remains of the deceased DPO have been deposited in the morgue while tactical teams, including soldiers, have been deployed to track the suspected hoodlums."
Kidnappers laid ambush for them -- SP Edafe, PPRO
The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of Delta State Police Command, Superintendent Bright Edafe, who confirmed the death of the DPO, said: "It is true that our DPO Agbarho was shot dead in Agbarho by suspected kidnappers. They went on security operations."
His words: "They ran into an ambush during an operation. Though no arrest has been made, the police are on the trail of the suspects."
Residents, rights groups worried
The audacity of the kidnappers has not only baffled many, but created tension among the citizens, who wondered why criminals, who police demobilized the hijacked Sienna vehicle, had the temerity to lie in wait for security agents, instead of fleeing for their dear lives.
The Publicity Secretary of the Agbarho-Urhobo Improvement Union, AUIU, Chief Felix Ofurhie, said residents of the community were shocked when they heard of the sad incident, adding that vigilante members from the area had been combing bushes with policemen since the incident.
"Community vigilante members have been in the bush since morning when news of the incident broke out. They are searching for clues in the investigation and further security operations", Ofurhie said.
"It happened about 1.00 am along the Agbarho - Ughelli end of the East-West Road".
Reacting to the dastardly killing, a rights group, the Organisation for Human and People's Rights Protection and Humanitarian, OHPRPH, condemned the noticeable upsurge in kidnapping incidents across the state.
The public relations officer of OHPRPH, Mrs. Rosemary Oshilim, in a statement, said the killing of CSP Jega "is alarming and unacceptable as the criminal circumstances have assumed a worrisome dimension in the state."
She added: "We are saddened by the heinous attack on our law enforcement officers, our hearts go out to the families of the fallen heroes, and the entire Nigeria Police Force during this difficult time.
"This tragic event underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to tackle the rising crime rate in Delta State. The OHPRPH calls on all stakeholders, including government agencies, community leaders, and civil society organizations, to collaborate on developing effective strategies to combat kidnapping and other forms of violent crime.
"The prevailing hardships in our country have contributed to an alarming increase in criminal activities. We must address the root causes of these issues, while simultaneously strengthening our law enforcement capabilities.
"The OHPRPH urges the Delta State Police Command to leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators of this attack to justice. We stand in solidarity with the police force in its efforts to maintain law and order in our communities".
A human rights activist, Comrade Israel Joe, who also empathized with the police in the state, said: "I feel very pained about this news. This was the same DPO I spoke with yesterday regarding the conduct of his men, who demanded money from a citizen. He immediately resolved the situation, cautioning his men not to try that again under his watch."
"This is very tearful, I can, to some extent, attest to the character of these men. I wish to convey my condolences to the Nigeria Police Force, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, and the entire family and friends of the officers, who lost their lives in the line of duty. The force should spare none of these demons".
Sad truth
The gloomy reality in Delta State is that it is not only the residents that fall victim, the police paid to protect them are also targets of the kidnappers.
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On January 24, a gang of gunmen/kidnappers abducted three police officers drafted to respond to a distress call in the state.
The authorities drafted the police officers in the Ohoror community, Ughelli North Local Government Area to rescue Moses Progress.
Weeks later, the police authorities deployed officers from the Force Headquarters, Abuja, and Delta State Police Command to rescue the three abducted officers.
Unfortunately, the suspected kidnappers ambushed and killed nine of the police officers on a rescue mission at Agadama community. They abducted over 15 others while one police officer escaped from the captors.
A combined team of security agents and the local vigilantes in Ughelli North local government area recovered the remains of six slaughtered police officers drafted from the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, Abuja, Police Mobile Force, PMF, 51 Oghara, and Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Asaba.
However, police officers from the office of the Inspector General of Police, Abuja, took over investigations of the murder incidents and arrested about nine suspects. It is not clear the fate of nine suspected persons, months after their arrest.
The daring kidnappers once snatched the Divisional Police Officer in the Abavo area of the state and collected ransom before they freed him.
In July, they stormed a Church premise on the Delta Broadcasting Service, DBS, Road, Asaba, capital of the state, where they took hostage a female politician in the state, Joan Onyemaechi, after killing her driver and police orderly. They escaped with her in a speedboat stationed at the band of the River Niger.
They released Onyemaechi, popularly known as Ada Anioma after spending over a week in captivity, but there is no word on the ransom they collected.
