A suspected armed robber has been killed during a gun duel with personnel of the Imo State Police Command.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, who said the incident occurred on April 18, 2023, at about 0430hrs at Sokotext Lodge, along Amaeze Road, by Federal Polytechnic Nekede back-gate, area of the state.
The spokesperson added that one of the robbers was killed while other members of the gang escaped.
Okoye told journalists in the state that operatives of the Nekede Police Divisional Headquarters swiftly mobilised to the scene of the crime following a distress call received from the Command’s Emergency control room.
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The police said, “On sighting the police team, the hoodlums engaged them in a gun duel. but were beaten back by the Police’s superior firepower, who engaged the thugs in a fierce gunfight that saw one member of the armed robbery syndicate neutralized and others flee to the nearby bush with varying degrees of bullet wounds.
“One locally made pistol, one machete, one mask, criminal charms, four laptops, three power banks, one iPhone, three pairs of canvass, two bags, garments and beverages, and a pair of palm slippers were found after a search of the area. The body was found and brought to the Federal Medical Center in Owerri.”
The police said while this is going on, a covert investigation is being conducted, and efforts were stepped up to apprehend the evading suspects and bring them up against the full force of the law.
According to the command’s image maker, the Police Commissioner, Mohammed Ahmed, commended the police officers for their valiant act and vowed to eradicate criminal activities in the state.
He then charged the Command’s Operatives to sustain the tempo in stemming the tide of arm robbery in the State and beckons on the well-meaning residents of the State in particular Hospitals, Clinics, and other first aid outlets to report any person seen with or treating gunshot injury in their vicinity to the nearest Police Station or via the Command’s emergency lines 0803773600 or 08098880197.