Police Clampdown on Armed Robbery Gang, Arrest Suspects in Rivers
. Arrest suspect with 930 rounds of ammunition in Delta
Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt and Sylvester Idowu in Warri
The Rivers State Police Command has clampdown on a five-man armed robbery gang allegedly responsible for car snatching and burglary in parts of Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor Local Government Areas of the state.
Similarly, operatives of Delta State Police Command have arrested a suspect identified as Anthony Godday with 930 rounds of 7.2mm AK-47 ammunition.
Parading some suspects at the Police headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday, the State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, revealed that the gang has been allegedly responsible for snatching of over 10 cars in the past three months.
He said the gang members snatches the cars at gunpoint, adding that they have been terrorising residents of the state seeking to enjoy the comforts and thrills of nightlife in Port Harcourt.
In his words: “The gang was led by one Chukwumela Imela (aka Boy Satan), who had been to prison on four occasions for various crimes, ranging from cultism to raping and armed robbery.
“Together with his childhood friend and companion, Precious Adiele, he joined the Iceland Cult Group in 2009. He is famed for being merciless in killing both rivals and allies, thus earning him the moniker ‘Boy Satan’.”
Disu continued: “In 2022, he disagreed with the Iceland Cult group over loot sharing from a robbery and angrily moved to join a rival group, ‘La Mendians Bobos’. To celebrate his defection, he decided to make a bold statement by accosting his friend, Precious Adiele and macheting him to death in his residence. After killing his friend, he boasted that he was not afraid to hurt even his family to prove a point.
“In 2012, he attacked a businessman named George, who was on his way to attend a church vigil and demanded his phone. The man handed his phone to him and on seeing the phone he got enraged that it was not an Android phone and proceeded to give machete cuts to him.
George was rescued by a member of the local vigilance in Diobu, one Aniefiok David who fought him off and took the injured victim for treatment. This act of the vigilance offended Boy Satan, and he earmarked Aniefiok David for death.
He began trailing the 39-year-old vigilance who worked as a sachet water distributor. On a particular night, a few weeks after the incident with George, at Ojoto Round-about in Diobu, he waylaid Aniefiok and shot him in the chest with a locally-made pistol. Aniefiok swung his machete as he took the shot and hacked off Boy Satan’s left hand at the wrist. They were both taken to the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital where Boy Satan was arrested by the Police and charged to court. That marked his first imprisonment.”
Disu further narrated that Imela returned from Prison and continued his criminal activities which led him to be incarcerated three more times before he was eventually neutralised by the State Police Command.
According to the CP, the gang nurtured by Imela continued in their atrocities, including robbery, snatching of cars in Port Harcourt, saying the Police who had been on the heels of the criminal gang got credible intelligence on one of their operation and followed it up.
On sighting the Police, the gang began shooting at the Police. Boy Satan and other gang members fled the scene after being overpowered by the superior firepower of the Police however, the gang’s driver, Junior Moses Eyimode, was arrested, and the minivan was recovered by the Police.
“The Police gave hot pursuit to the fleeing gang members and caught up with them in one of their numerous hideouts in New Road, Borikiri where they fired more shots at the Police in a bid to escape. In the gun battle, the notorious ‘Boy Satan’ and another member of his gang were neutralised and one Beretta pistol and two locally made revolvers were recovered”.
He revealed that so far two cars have been recovered from the gang, adding that investigations is on to mop up other stolen vehicles and round up fleeing gang members.
Meanwhile, operatives of Delta State Police Command have arrested a suspect identified as Anthony Godday with 930 rounds of 7.2mm AK-47 ammunition.
The suspect was apprehended on September 5 at Aboh town during a stop-and-search exercise by Anto-Crime patrol team from Aboh Division.
According to the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Edafe Bright yesterday, the patrol team intercepted the suspect along with another person during the search of a motorcycle.
“On September 5, 24, at 1330hrs Anti-Crime Patrol team of Aboh division, while on stop-and-search duty in Aboh town intercepted one motorcycle conveying two occupants carrying a bag, the occupants were subjected to a routine search, while the search was going on, one of them took to his heels and escaped. Nine hundred and thirty rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition was recovered in the bag. The other suspect Anthony Godday was immediately arrested,” he said.
Also, in another development, Bright said the crack squad attached to Area Command, Ughelli, stormed a brothel in Ewu and arrested five suspected kidnappers
After the arrest, one single barrel gun, three locally made cut to size guns and N450,000 ransom collected from their victim, two Moniepoint and Opay PoS machines, and wraps of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp were recovered from the suspects.
He identified the suspects as Dominic Uweru (alias Ovwolo), 48; Isaac Oghenerukevwe (alias Plug), 34y; Oviri Godstime, 25 Junior Sunday, and Efedeki Adjovo.
“They confessed to various armed robbery/kidnapping operations in Ughelli and environs, including the kidnap of a 70-year-old woman (name withheld) who they kidnapped on September 08, 2024, and collected the sum of N7,900,000 as ransom on September 10 before her release,” he added
