Police arrest suspected seven-man armed robbery gang terrorising Enugu

The Police Command in Enugu State has arrested seven men suspected to be a notorious armed robbery gang operating in Enugu.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, said in a statement on Saturday in Enugu that the suspects were arrested in Lagos, Awka, Ebonyi as well as Ezeagu and Enugu metropolis.

Mr Amaraizu said that the feat was achieved by the command’s operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit through painstaking intelligence operation.

He said that the highly specialized armed robbery gang had killed one Chinedu Nzegwu, a trader and a policeman at Obioma Street in Uwani, Enugu on September 12.

“The arrested suspects gave their names as Obunike Ugbene, 27, alias Paparazi, who is the ringleader of the gang from Amaofiagu in Affa of Udi council area of the state but residing at Obinagu road Abakpa Nike near Enugu.

“Kenneth Uchenna, 27, alias Madubuagu who is a highly skilled driver from Imezi Owa community in Ezeagu Local Government, Nkemdilim Mathew, 23, alias Alone from Nodu-Okpuno Awka of Anambra and Chukwuma Mbam, 22, alias revolution from Ikwo in Ebonyi.

“Stanley Uchenna, 23, alias Posiga from Aguobuowa in Enugu State, who acts as informant for the gang; Chinedu Mbam,25, alias Nwaiboko from Izzi in Ebonyi and Patrick Okoli, 33, alias Chika Tokor from Obunofia-Ndiuno Ezeagu in Enugu State’’.

Mr Amaraizu said that the gang leader, Ugbene, had regretted the killings and prayed God to forgive him as he never intended to kill anyone but circumstance led him and the gang to do that.

He noted that the gang leader had confessed and revealed to police operatives their numerous operations, the locations where they had operated in the state and number of people they had killed so far.

“Through intelligence information, the gang leader was nabbed in Lagos by the operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit where he had escaped to and his arrest facilitated the arrest of other members of his gang,’’ he said.

Mr Amaraizu noted that the gang leader, Mr Ugbene, while regretting his action, advised youth to desist from involvement in any criminal activities as “there is no peace for any criminal and no matter what, he must be caught’’.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed Danmallam, has applauded efforts of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and assured that the command in partnership with sister security agencies would ensure that peace and security in the state were sustained.

Mr Danmallam maintained that the command would keep on being proactive in line with the tenets of community-oriented policing.

The commissioner said that any crime committed must be followed and suspect or suspects must be unmasked.

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