ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State Police Command has recorded a string of deadly encounters, foiled kidnappings and multiple arrests in a sweeping offensive against cultism, armed robbery and drug trafficking across the state.
Speaking during a press briefing in Asaba, the Commissioner of Police, CP Aina Adesola, said the successes followed sustained raids on criminal hideouts and black spots ordered at his maiden Officers’ Conference, where commanders were directed to intensify operations and uphold professionalism in the discharge of their duties.
Adesola said operatives of the Command’s Special Assignment Team on January 17 stormed a suspected cultists’ camp in a bush at Ughelli, where a gun duel broke out between police and armed hoodlums. One suspect, later arrested with gunshot wounds, died at the hospital, while a Beretta pistol and four rounds of live ammunition were recovered. Other fleeing suspects, he said, were being tracked.
In another operation on January 11, police foiled a planned kidnap at an uncompleted building along Upper Agbarho in Ughelli North Local Government Area. Six suspects escaped after exchanging gunfire with operatives, abandoning an FNC rifle, a pump-action gun and 33 rounds of live ammunition.
The commissioner disclosed that on January 10, patrol officers at Hausa Market, Ubeji, arrested a suspected cultist, Gift Ojulowo, 30, with a locally fabricated gun and two live cartridges hidden in his trousers. The suspect allegedly confessed to being a member of the Aye Confraternity.
Further arrests followed on January 19, when operatives of the Raiders Unit nabbed two suspected armed robbers at Isheagu with a double-barrelled gun and six live cartridges, while another team in Ogwashi-Uku arrested a 45-year-old woman, Joy Ezeni, with 100 wraps of cannabis suspected to be “loud”.
Adesola said a separate operation on January 8 led to the arrest of one Obi Onuigbi Ndubuoso, 43, with 36 bottles of nitrous oxide, popularly known as “laughing gas”, adding that investigations were ongoing.
In one of the most disturbing cases, police arrested Aliyu Haman, 20, for allegedly stabbing his younger brother to death while he slept at Poly Road, Ogwashi-Uku, after taking substances suspected to be hard drugs. The murder weapon was recovered.
According to the police boss, between January 8 and date, the command recovered 11 firearms and 80 rounds of ammunition, arrested 11 murder suspects, 13 suspected cultists and one rape suspect, and recovered one stolen vehicle.
Adesola warned that the command would intensify its crackdown on drug dealers and cartels, describing rising drug abuse among youths as a major driver of violent crime. “The Ogwashi-Uku murder was avoidable. Under the influence of drugs, a young man killed his own brother for no just cause,” he said, adding that massive raids had been ordered across the 25 local government areas of the state.
He thanked the Delta State Government for its support and urged residents to cooperate with security agencies, assuring them of the command’s resolve to sustain the fight against crime and criminality in the state.
