How seven died in police–robbers’ shoot-out in A’Ibom

The suspects’ car

RESIDENTS of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, are currently living in fear following the spate of kidnappings, assassinations and armed robberies that have gripped the state that prides itself as the Land of Promise.

The indigenes of Uyo will not forget December 1, 2010, in a hurry when some armed robbery suspects engaged in a shoot-out with a combined team of police and army popularly known as Operation Aduma.

The sporadic gunshots between the security operatives and the armed robbers lasted for an hour between 7.30 pm and 8.30pm.

After the shoot-out, seven people, including three of the suspects died.

After the incident, the areas affected were deserted and by night the entire Uyo was like a ghost town.

PUNCH METRO gathered that the suspects were heading for Aka Road from Oron Road in Uyo, the state capital, in a black Mercedes Benz 190 car and were suspected to be on a robbery mission before they ran into the security operatives and engaged them in a gun battle.

In the process, an inspector of police that was attached to C Division in Uyo, whose name could not be ascertained as at the time of filling this report, was shot dead by the suspects, while three other civilians were killed by a stray bullet.

The suspects’ Mercedes Benz car had two different plate numbers: one bearing the plate number of Rivers State AJ 395 RGN, while the other had the plate number of Bayelsa State KU 552 YEN. The engine number and chasis number are 10296210264083E90 and WDB2010241A560458 respectively.

Briefing newsmen at the Police Headquarters in Uyo, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sani Magaji, sympathised with the families of the deceased.

Magaji said he lost an inspector of police during the attack, while a riot policeman and a soldier were receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital due to gunshot wounds.

The police boss, however, blamed the death of the civilians on the armed robbers, who shot from different directions.

He said, “In the encounter, three hoodlums were killed and stray bullets got some passers-by. We regret what happened. We recovered large consignment of arms. We also recovered about 1,000 live ammunition from the hoodlums.

“We still hope we are going to catch up with them very soon. As they were fleeing, they were firing and moving and that was what caused the casualties.”

Source:http://www.punchng.com/