Armed Robbers Dressed In Police Uniform Arrested In Enugu

The police have arrested four members of a six-man gang dressed as policemen in disguise to rob bus passengers in Enugu on Christmas Eve.

Four members of the gang – Kenneth Eze, Ojobo Ude, Emeka Eze and Sunday Ugwu – were arrested while attempting to rob passengers of a commercial bus along Ninth Mile/Nsukka Expressway.

It was gathered that on December 24, members of the six-man gang, who were dressed in fake police uniforms, mounted a roadblock on the expressway, where they stopped two commercial buses.

The hoodlums diverted the buses, which were conveying passengers travelling from Lagos, into the bush.

They were dispossessing the passengers of their valuables when operatives of the Ninth Mile Police Division of the Enugu State Police Command, who got wind of the development, confronted them.

It was learnt that a gun duel ensued between the armed robbers and the police.

Four of the hoodlums were eventually arrested after the gun battle while two others escaped.

The spokesman for the Enugu State Police Command, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the development, said the armed robbers sustained severe injuries in the encounter with the police.

“The suspects diverted two commuter buses believed to be coming from Lagos and heading to Otukpo in Benue State into a bush and were robbing their victims when operatives swooped on them.

“Four members of the gang were arrested after a gun duel with the operatives, but two others believed also to have been injured in the gun battle escaped with injuries.

“The arrested, injured armed robbery suspects, who gave their names as Kenneth Eze, Ojobo Ude, Emeka Eze and Sunday Ugwu, all claimed that they hail from Obollo Afor in the Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State,” Amaraizu said.

The police spokesman added that three locally-made guns were recovered from the suspects, as well as nine mobile telephone sets believed to have been stolen from their owners.

Amaraizu further disclosed that the police had intensified efforts to apprehend two other members of the gang, who escaped during the gun battle.

He, however, urged members of the public to assist the police with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the hoodlums.

“Members of the public, particularly hospital operators, are to watch out for anyone with gunshot wounds and report promptly to any nearby police station for prompt action,” Amaraizu said.