The Rivers State Police Command says it has arrested nine persons in connection with the gruesome murder of two Mobile Policemen around the Mile 2, Diobu axis of Port Harcourt, the state capital, last Monday.
The officers were attached to a Beer Distribution Company, popularly known as “Paddy Man” located at Nwachukwu/Ojoto Street in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State.
They were on their way to deposit cash for the company in the bank alongside some other administrative staff when they were ambushed by masked men, who shot them dead.
A statement issued in Port Harcourt, yesterday, by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, said the command swung into action immediately after the incident and has been able to apprehend the suspects.
The statements reads, ‘’The Rivers State Police Command in less than 24 hours after the tragic killing of two Mobile Policemen at Ojoto Street in Mile 1, Diobu, PH, arrested nine suspects, who are currently being investigated in connection with the dastardly act.’’
“Their arrest was made possible barely 12 hours after the Commissioner of Police, Usman A. Belel, issued a marching order to all the commanders of the tactical units to arrest with immediate effect the perpetrators of the heinous crime.”
The police spokesperson appealed to the public to support the police with credible information that could lead to the arrest of other members of the gang.
“The public can, therefore, reach us through the following dedicated lines: 08032003524; 08098880134 and 08182157778,” the statement added.
It would be recalled that two policemen attached to a beer distribution company located at Nwachukwu/Ojoto Street in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, were shot dead, last Monday morning by unknown gunmen suspected to be armed robbers.
The gunmen, who escaped with an unspecified amount of cash, shot dead the security personnel who were escorting a bullion van to the bank.
The incident happened about 9 am around Ojoto-Timber, Mile Two, Diobu, a close distance from a police station. They also made away with the riffles of the policemen.
According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen who may have trailed the beer trading company vehicle, double-crossed it and engaged the two policemen in an exchange of gunfire.
The driver of the vehicle sustained gunshot wounds on his legs. Many passersby were also injured in the incident.
Long after the criminals had escaped, some policemen arrived the scene and moved away the bodies of their colleagues that were still lying in the Toyota Camry car.