A combined team of Policemen attached to Dragon Patrol of the Ozoro Area command, troops from the 63 Brigade of the Nigerian Army and members of the local vigilante have went after some bandits terrorising Isoko in Delta State.
According to reports, the bandits on Sunday attacked and killed two police officers who were on stop and search duties at the Oleh roundabout in Isoko South LGA.
The bandits also set ablaze a patrol vehicle thereby throwing the environs into palpable fear.
Angered by the attack, the Commissioner of Police in the State, CP Wale Abass detailed the combined team of officers to fish out the bandits.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe, told news men on Monday that during the operation the officers engaged the hoodlums in a serious gun duel and forced them to fled into the bush having been inflicted gunshot injuries.
“The team traced their blood to a river where one AK-47 rifle was recovered on the same date of the incident.
“The response team sustained the tempo and continued the operation on 24/7/2023. Acting on credible intelligence, they stormed Erewa community bush in Isoko North LGA, where they engaged the remnant of the bandits in serious gun duel,” Edafe stated.
According to him, the officers neutralized one of the bandits, arrested two others, recovered two more AK-47 rifles, one assault rifle, four magazines and twelve 7.62 AK-47 ammunition.
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DSP Edafe said efforts are still on to track down other members of the syndicate. The incidence has generated tension and anxiety in Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South Local Government and its environs.
Curfew has since been declared in Oleh town following the attack.
A resident who spoke to The Trumpet said people are currently living in fear in the community following the incidence and subsequent discovery of a camp belonging to the bandits.
“There is serious fear and tension in Isoko now. We have not heard or seen such attack in recent years. The discovery of a camp owned by the bandits is even more worrisome.
“This means that hardened criminals are living around us. How will local farms go to their farms going forward? I appealed to the security officers to comb the entire bushes and forests to dislodge the bandits,” the resident stated.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, CP Wale Abass, assured residents that the Command will not relent in the fight against crime and criminality.
He called for the support from well-meaning Deltans to furnish the police with useful intelligence to ensure that the State is safe for all.
The public can reach the following Control Room numbers:
1. 08036684974
2. 08125958005
3. 09053872287
4. 09155570007 ( PPRO’S OFFICE)
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