The Delta State Police Command’s operatives apprehended three teenagers suspected of being involved in armed robbery. Their alleged criminal activities were centered around a ‘Shawarma’ joint at the bustling Enerhen Junction in Warri.
Among the apprehended individuals were two young males, Idigbe Osreis (19) and Idigbe Perfect (16), who were located at their hideouts.
Reports indicate that a police undercover operative, who happened to be in the vicinity, spotted Gift Peace, one of the suspected teenage robbers. This operative trailed Gift Peace to a Suya spot, where he was apprehended.
On September 29, 2023, a distress call regarding an armed robbery operation at Giwamu Junction in Warri reached the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of ‘B’ Division, Warri, SP Bolarinwa Alabi.
Acting on the directives of the State Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, the DPO led an intelligence-driven operation alongside his team, resulting in the arrest of a 14-year-old suspect at the same Suya spot.
Upon interrogation, the teenager admitted to being a member of an armed robbery gang responsible for causing fear in Warri and its surrounding areas. Shockingly, he confessed to engaging in these criminal activities since the age of seven.
He mentioned other members and thus took the detectives to their hideouts.
The Police Public Relations Officer for Delta State Command, DSP Bright Edafe, in a signed statement, affirmed that the gang members upon sighting the operatives opened fire from their unregistered operational tricycle.
The police spokesman said that the operatives gave “due response” to the hostility of the gangsters.
In the process, the PPRO added, one of the suspects who was later identified as the leader of the gang sustained serious gunshot injuries and was taken to the hospital where he was eventually confirmed dead by the doctor. However, his other counterparts escaped.
Exhibits recovered from the suspects, according to the police spokesman, include their operational tricycle, one locally made cut-to-size single barrel gun with stocked expended cartridges, and three live cartridges.
The PPRO stated that efforts were ongoing to arrest the fleeing gang members and also to recover more of their operational arms.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Abass, has emphasised the necessity of adequate parenting as an essentiality in the fight against crime.
The police boss advised that parents should be alive to their responsibilities and safeguard the future of their children by monitoring and teaching them valuable precautionary lessons that will help them avoid bad companies and hence stay away from criminal activities.
