Nine armed robbery suspects arrested, guns recovered in Enugu as Abia CP warns policemen on extra-judicial killings, lawlessness

The Police Command in Enugu State says it has arrested nine armed robbery suspects in the state within a period of one month.
The command also recovered an AK 47 rifle, two locally-made double barrel guns and two locally-made pistols as well as two live cartridges.
Parading the suspects on Friday in Enugu, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Sulaiman Balarabe, said that the feat was achieved through effective collaboration and partnership with sister security agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
Balarabe noted that the command’s fight against crime was further boosted by the launch of operation `Puff Adder’, adding that it was meant to further provide solution to topical security challenge such as kidnapping and other violent crimes.
In the period under review, the commissioner said that on April 26, operatives of the command arrested four persons who had been terrorizing the Ugwogo and Ibeagwa Nike axis of Enugu State.
“The suspects: Chibuoke Charles, 25; Okwudili Ilochi, 24; Michael Chigozie, 23; and Chibueze Chinecherem, 26; were arrested at about 6 a.m. with one single barrel locally made revolver pistol,’’ he said.
By 9 a.m. on April 17, Balarabe said that Eze Emmanuel, 25, a final year nursing student, was arrested for unlawful possession of fire arms, which included one locally made double barrel short gun and two live cartridges.
“Again, Ezeugwu Brendan, 25, was arrested on April 15 for unlawful possession of one locally made six rounds revolver pistol.
“Also on March 10 , Okechukwu Egbuaba, an ex-convict, with three other cohorts at large, attacked a police officer returning from an election duty from Ebonyi State and dispossessed him of an AK47.
“The suspect, Egbuaba, was later arrested and the AK47 recovered from him on April 4,’’ he said.
The commissioner also noted that the command its Anti-Cultism Unit arrested Chukwuemeka Ani, 21, and recovered one locally made double barrel pistol.
“Through intelligence report, it was gathered that Ani had earlier robbed one Benard Ugwu on Feb, 9 at Abakpa Nike and escaped. But our operatives tracked him down,’’ he said.
The commissioner said that the suspects had been helping the command in its investigations; while they would be charged to court after investigations.
“We are also striving towards reducing crime to its barest minimum through pro-active measures without losing sight of respect for human rights and rule of law,’’ he added.
Meanwhile, Abia State Police Commissioner, Mr Ene Okon, has decried the rate of extra-judicial killings and lawlessness among police operatives, saying that the development has brought shame to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Okon said this in Aba on Friday while addressing officers and men of Eziama Divisional Police Station in the Aba Area Command.
He, therefore, warned the police operatives to be cautious with the handling of their fire arms in order not to become victims of its miss use.
He said: “We are suffering from self-inflicted injury. We have deflected our ego.
“We have become subject of ridicule because this gun they bought for us to protect people, we’ve turned to use it for killing innocent people.
“In one or two weeks in Lagos, police killed about four innocent persons and some in a bizarre manner.”
The police boss recounted how some unscrupulous police operatives abused their power, citing the recent killing of a girl who was allegedly returning from a club.
He wondered when going to club became a crime in Nigeria and warned operatives against indiscriminate arrest and attack on innocent citizens.
“The gun you should use for kidnappers and armed robbers, you now turn to use to kill innocent persons.
“This is happening often. By doing this, you are carving a bad image for the police and yet we have a law guiding the use of fire arms’’.
He reminded them that the first day they joined the police, they were told about Force Order 237, which guides policemen on the use of fire arms.
He frowned at the attitude of some policemen, who usually fired shots into the air during an arrest, adding that there was no need for such wastes.
“Even when you are on the range, you’ll always be told to aim your fire on the knee.
“But your own knee has disappeared as all you now see is the heart and head.
“You neglect the existence of Force Order 237 and so I think you must be taught again, if you still don’t understand it.
“I don’t want to hear accidental discharge here in Abia. Extra-judicial killings must be avoided because it dents police image,” Okon said.
He admonished officers and men of the command to be civil with members of the public and treat them with courtesy so that they would get the same respect from the public in return.
He further said that Nigerians had become more enlightened than before.
According to him, most people now know their constitutional rights, hence the need for the police to work in line with constitutional provisions.
He warned them to stop harassing, molesting, abusing and assaulting Nigerians over flimsy reasons.
He charged them to apply the instructions they learnt from the police college in order to avoid the dehumanisation of citizens and degradation of the police.
Okon also urged them to adopt a better and more mature means of extracting information from suspects than beating and dehumanising them.
He encouraged them to study and make themselves conversant with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Police Act and other laws in order to discharge their duties creditably.