Xmas: Criminals flee Warri as police intensify raid on blackspots

As the Yuletide festivities approach, suspected criminals and hoodlums in oil-rich Warri, Delta State, may have taken refuge in neighbouring communities as the police intensify its raids of all the flashpoints in the city.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the oil-rich city had suddenly become a ghost town at nights as people now stayed back in their homes for fear of being mistaken by security agents for suspected criminals.
During a visit to Estate Roundabout, Enerhen Junction, Iyara, Emebiren, and other hotspots in the oil- rich city, our correspondent observed relative calm as people living around these areas went about their lawful businesses without fear of harassment or molestation by criminal elements.
A resident of the Estate Roundabout, who gave his name as Mr. Victor Osiobe, said that he was “very impressed” with what the police, especially the ‘B’ Division Police station, Warri, had been doing to maintain peace in the area.
He said since the police began their raids, residents in the area had been having peaceful sleep, noting that before now, people living in that area had always been harassed and dispossessed of their valuables by suspected area boys and criminals.
“I really have to commend the police for the good job they are doing in Warri. For the past few weeks now, we have been sleeping with our eyes closed. This is quite different from what we used to experience, especially during this festive period. Before now, area boys and armed robbers used to terrorise us every day. But since the raids by the police, we have been sleeping with our two eyes closed,” Osiobe said.
Our correspondent, however, also gathered that suspected kidnappers and armed men had lately invaded Efurrun communities in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, robbing, killing, kidnapping and maiming their victims as they went on the rampage.
Residents of communities have expressed concern over increasing cases of armed robbery and kidnapping in their areas, particularly during this festive period and demanded urgent attention from security agencies.
Meanwhile, criminal activities have increased in most of the areas outside Warri. Areas like Uvwie communities as well as Udu and Okpe council areas have, in the last two months, experienced tension as residents live in fear.
A landlord along New Layout road, off Jakpa road, Chief Chris Onoriode, told our correspondent how a gang of five armed robbers in a green colour Toyota Camry invaded a drinking bar along Uti Street, off the popular PTI road and robbed everyone in the joint of their belongings at gun point, and in the process shot four persons, who tried to be smart during the operation.
“This was an incident that happened at about 7:34pm and lasted for more than 30 minutes. The most annoying part of it was that there was no presence of policemen or other security personnel within the vicinity to save the situation. And at the end of the day, two of the shot victims died on the spot while the other two were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” Onoriode said.
Another resident along Airport road in the heart of the city, Mr. Nath Akabueze, recounted how a woman, simply identified as Julie, with her two children, were last week trailed by kidnappers from their home at Effurun to Kosini junction along Airport road.
It was learnt that her husband had alighted from the vehicle to buy Suya at the junction, when the kidnappers, numbering about five, in an ash colour Toyota Corolla, shot sporadically into the air and drove the victims away to an unknown destination.
“This incident happened some days ago and up till this moment, nothing has been heard from the victims as the kidnappers have yet to open a line of communication with the family,” a source said.
A banker, who pleaded anonymity, also disclosed how a colleague, simply identified as Obaro, an employee of First Bank, Ekpan branch, was followed by armed robbers from the bank after closing and later accosted on top of the NNPC Complex road bridge, where he was robbed of his cash and valuables before being shot at close range.
The body of the banker was later recovered at the riverbank the next day by passers-by, who contacted the police. The police reportedly informed the bank officials of the incident later, before depositing the body at the mortuary of the Warri Central hospital, after being identified.