Army Raid 4 Cultists' Camps In Rivers State LG, Recover DSP Alkali, Orderly's Guns, Uniforms

Recovered: The weapons and uniforms recovered.

The Army has recovered one AK47 assault rifle and uniforms belonging to DSP Mohammed Alkali and his police orderly who were allegedly beheaded in Rivers State.

LEADERSHIP report continues:

The policemen were killed by suspected cultist at Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State during the December 10, 2016 re-run legislative elections.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division, Port Harcourt, Maj.-Gen. Kasimu Abdulkarim, disclosed this to newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday.

Abdulkarim said that troops from the Division recovered the items during a raid on four militants’ camps and cultists’ hideouts in Ujju community near Omoku.

According to him, troops also recovered assorted arms and ammunition stockpiled by bandits in the area.

He said: “Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area has over time witnessed criminal acts ranging from attacks on critical national infrastructure and brutal murders which affected the economic activities of oil companies and citizens.

“The barbaric nature and manner of criminalities led the 6 Division to conduct a raid on December 31 on four suspected criminal camps located across the river, in Ujju community.

“In the raid, 6 Division troops, in conjunction with Operation Delta Safe Special Boats Service and Air Component, engaged the suspected criminals in exchange of gunfire.

“Troops later arrested some suspects and recovered several weapons, ammunition and uniforms, including uniforms and rifle belonging DSP Mohammed Alkali and his orderly, Sgt. Urukwu Nwachukwu.”

He listed arms recovered to include one AK47 rifle, two G3 rifles, five double barrel guns, two pistols, 31 empty AK47 magazines, and 242 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition.

Others are 322 rounds of other calibres of ammunition, bulletproof jackets, seven other police uniforms, 31 handsets, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Cards and a First Aid box.

Abdulkarim said the clean-up operation was in continuation of efforts by the Division to recover weapons from cultists and militants who refused to embrace Amnesty offered by Rivers State government.

He noted that in spite of the just concluded amnesty programme offered by government, armed groups had continued to terrorise residents in Omoku town.

The GOC said that 15 persons, including a soldier, four Civil Defence Corps personnel, two policemen and eight civilians were brutally murdered while several others kidnapped in the area in December 2016.