[b]Written by Simon Ebegbulem  and re-edited by Anthony chibuike 
Saturday, 14 February 2009





WEDNESDAY February 11,2009 , was a very pathetic day for the Nigeria police force. The tragedy that befell them in just an operation that lasted for a whole day caught them unawares and the result was quite devastating.

ImageThe shock was very glaring on their faces. As a matter of fact, the Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), in the state, ASP Peter Ogboi was almost in tears when the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Danlami Yar’Adua was briefing newsmen on the tragedy that befell the force, which led to the death of eight police officers in a marathon operation embarked upon by some dare-devil armed robbers suspected to be militants from the Niger Delta.

Six of the police officers including the Divisional Police Officer (DPO)  in-charge of Ikpoba Hill police station, Mr Eugene Obudu, the DTO, Fidelis Okenwa and four others lost their lives during a gun duel with the robbers which took place at Eyean and Ugoneki while three other officers were serious injured.

But there was an earlier attack at about 5:30am from the same gang of robbers at the Benin-Lagos road bypass, where two police officers a Constable and a yet to be identified officer lost their lives.

Three persons were also injured in that particular operation. Saturday Vanguard learnt that these set of policemen were attached to the AIG, Zone 5, Benin .

It was gathered that the robbers who came in three vehicles, a Mercedes Jeep ML320, a Hilux van and a bus, were targeting four bullion vans conveying money from Asaba branch of the Central Bank to their branch in Benin City .

But unfortunately for them, they were not able to catch up with the bullion vans when they passed apparently due to the large number of security men that escorted the bullion vans.

As it seems, they became frustrated and descended on one of the bullion vans that was coming back from the branch of the UBA in Abudu, after they had moved the money inside to the banks coffers.

It was at this point that members of the State Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) engaged the robbers in a gun duel and after over thirty minutes of exchange of gun fire, the robbers retreated, and some of them laid ambush for police officers coming behind the men of the SARS.

Following the signal that came from the state Command, the DPO of Ikpoba Hill police station and his men headed towards Abudu to give a helping hand to the men of the SARS.

Unfortunately for them, the robbers had laid ambush for them and four of the police officers were shot dead in the cross fire.

Two others were shot by the robbers at Eyean. After shooting the DPO, the robbers came back and collected their guns and the police patrol van and continued their rampage. The convoy of the Delta state Police Commissioner, Mr Jacob Oshinowho, ran into the robbers and there was another round of exchange of fire.

The Commissioner was lucky to have escaped death but his driver was however not that lucky as the bullet got him in his thigh.

The robbers numbering over ten was said to have escaped into the bush with bullet wounds. But it was later learnt that one of robbers died and was shallowly buried by his colleagues in a village along the Benin-Asaba express road before they escaped. As at the time of filling this report, there is a serious manhunt for the robbers.

The police both in Delta and Edo had cordoned off the bush were the robbers are suspected to be presently cooling off. And it is only a matter of time they would account for their sins, as the Police Public Relations Officer attached to Zone 5, Benin , ASP Ebi Orubiri vowed to Vanguard. “It is only a question of time, they will surely meet their waterloo”, the Edo police Command vowed.

However, the Edo state police Commissioner, Mr Danlami Yar’Adua narrated the incident to newsmen at the state Command in a very pensive mood.     

According to him, “ yesterday was a horrible day for the Nigeria police because of the activities of some dare-devil armed robbers, who came into Benin targeting some bullion vans that were conveying money from Delta state to Benin Central Bank.

Yesterday, the police officer incharge of Abudu informed my control room that a bullion van that have successfully evacuated some money at UBA Abudu branch, was attacked by armed robbers who were operating in three vehicles.

As a result of that attack one Sergeant Guobadia was killed and that Sergeant is attached to the operation department of this headquarters.

On receiving this information my Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), and five other teams were mobilized. At Ewean village men from the police mobile force, engaged the robbers but two men received bullet wounds.

At Ugonoba village, DPO Eugene Obudu, the DTO Fidelis Okenwa and his team along with two other teams ran into the robbers ambush because when we were informed that they are operating near abudu coming down to Benin, in order to stop them from entering Benin because if they invade Benin we will be in trouble, we now moved forward towards Abudu.

Three teams of SARS were on red alert, while DPO Obudu and his team and another Sky patrol team where on the left side, they decided to cover both ways. Unfortunately, at a stage there was a place were you have hill, the DPO met with the robbers who came in three vehicles.

A Mercedes jeep, ML 320, a Hilux and a Bus. A day to that operation the owner of that bus was kidnapped by the robbers with a view to using that bus for the operation.

And all through the operation he was blinded fold in the bus and his hands were tied. So when they were coming from that side, it was a kind of ambush because the DPO was not expecting them.

And these people were using these general purpose machine guns, the one used by the military that produces 30-40 rounds per second.

There was a terrible shoot out between the DPO’s men and the Sky patrol and the robbers at that point. In that very encounter, the DPO, Mr Eugene was killed. He was the DPO Ikpoba Hill.

The DCO Fidelis Okenwan was also killed and two other policemen in the field were killed. The robbers took all their riffles and went back towards Abudu.
My SARS team also pursued them. At a stage near Abudu, SARS also encountered them and there was another serious shoot, their vehicles were riddled with bullets. It is also good to know that when they killed the DPO, his men replied but the robbers’ fire power was higher because of the kind of arms they have.

They were able to move with the DPO’s guns and also his vehicle and the police Hilux. At that point where there vehicle was riddled with bullets; they abandoned their vehicle and ran into the bush.

But they were able to escape with the vehicle which they snatched from the late DPO. That time they could not proceed because of the tight security we provided. We have already blocked all the exits to Benin and my men were heading towards them, so they ran into the bush.

At a stage, when the police were not there, they came back, at that point two of my mobile police men on patrol saw them and they opened fire on the robbers. The robbers abandoned one of the vehicles again and ran into the bush. We realized that that road they took into the bush leads to some villages in Delta state.

That is a road which is know as Ozah road, it came out to Igbanke area.
While they were on that particular operation, the Commissioner of Police Delta state was coming back from Abuja with his team and they ran into them, they opened fire on the Commissioner of police’s convoy and during the shoot out, the driver of the Delta state Commission of Police was hit on the thigh but no body was killed and they took up again into the bush.

At a stage when they entered Delta state, I called the Delta state Commissioner of Police and gave him the information, that the men had ran into the bush because the information was given to us by the villages. The Commissioner of police mobilized his men.

And this morning, he called me that men of his command in collaboration with vigilante groups, met with the robbers in the bush sharing money and they opened fire on them. One of them was killed instantly while the remaining took to the bush.

Eventually the police recovered eleven riffles from them and most of them were the riffles that were taken from my policemen here in Benin .

When we recovered the vehicles, in the Mercedes Benz, 320 ML, we recovered an AK 49 riffle, six fully loaded magazines, six fully loaded magazines, six empty magazines and we discovered that the motor was full of blood, which means they too we got them in the shoot out.

This morning, in a village Ehuhu near Egba, there was report that one of the robbers died in that bush and he was shallowly buried by his colleagues. I have already sent the DPO of that area to go and recover the body of the robbers.

From all indications, many more must have dies on their way because the quantity of blood we saw in their vehicle is not just from one person.
From our observation, these robbers were targeted four bullion vans conveying money from Central

Bank Asaba to that of Benin. However the money was safely evacuated to Central bank, I think it was out of anger that they were not able to succeed in that operation that they decided to attack the bullion van evacuating money to the UBA in Abudu. As at now I can assure you that nemesis is catching up with them.

The CP Delta is there pursing them and those who died in the state their bodies have been recovered and a lot of money has been recovered. With this we have now fortified our security in Benin. We assure the public that there is no danger.

We will continue to fortify not only Benin but the state as a whole. All we need is the assistance of members of the public by giving us information. I want to say with a lot of regrets that this operation has made the state loss as many as six men.

The DPO, the DTO and other rank and file. While some who are injured are receiving treatment at the hospital. Most of the rifles they collected from my men have been recovered by the CP Delta.

It was the same robbers that raid all the areas in the Benin that very day. They are now in Delta state and assure you that the Delta state police command are closing up on them. All of them must be arrested that I am very sure of.
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So sad.

It is high time these robbers are directed to the National Assembly and House of Reps for operations. The National Assembly and House of Reps have over 50% of the national budget as salary.