Police kills teacher during armed robbery in Calabar

The Police in Cross River have killed an unidentified teacher who was among a four-man-robbery-gang that raided shops along Goldie-Mount Zion in the Calabar-South area of the state capital.

Operatives from the Uwanse Police Division had responded to a distress call that the four-man robbery gang were operating from shop to shop when the incident happened.

It was learnt that the police had engaged the gang in a gun duel during where one of the gang members, who was identified to be a teacher, was killed.

Another suspect was arrested alive with gun wounds, while the driver of the vehicle they came with and another managed to escape.

Two locally made pistols and other items such as phones, laptops and money were recovered from the suspects.

Narrating how the suspects operated before the police intervened, an eyewitness, Ephraim Chigozie, said he was among those robbed at gunpoint.

“I saw three guys walked into our premises, at first I thought they were customers who were coming to buy drinks because we sell beer in wholesale, but I became suspicious when I noticed that the three of them wore fez caps.

“Before I knew it, they held one of my boys, I did not know that the leader was pointing a pistol. As I tried to walk towards my vehicle, they ordered me back into the store and asked me to lie flat on the floor. They dispossessed us and went ahead into a nearby Micro-finance Bank.

“Unfortunately for them, the bank usually had serious activities because they give loans to market women. They entered the bank but the crowd was much. They ordered everyone to lie down but the women started screaming and they had to leave immediately. Some people alerted the police too,” he said.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Irene Ugbo, said the gang were ambushed by men of Uwanse Division during their operation.

“Our men killed one of them during a gun duel. One was injured while two others are still at large, and investigation is ongoing. We also recovered cash, two locally made pistols, laptops and phones. We will surely get to the root of the matter,” she assured.