I Joined Armed Robbery To Fight Poverty, Arrested Polytechnic Student Confesses

An armed robbery suspect from Etche Local Government Area, Rivers State, Promise Agonwu, has confessed his membership of a gang terrorising residents of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Agonwu, a student of Computer Science at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, Imo State, said he joined armed robbery to fight poverty.

He said: “I was arrested because I was involved in an armed robbery. The robbery took place at Agip in Port Harcourt.

“I went into robbery because of the hardship. I am an OND 2 student, Computer Science, at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, in Imo State”.

The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Daudaura, who paraded the suspect and five others said they were arrested in Obibi forest in Etche during an operation conducted by police operatives and other sister agencies.

He said three AK47 rifles, one pump action gun, one barretta pistol, two-locally made pistols, six magazines and one cut-to-size gun

“Operatives of Operation Sting, in a combined operation with other sister security agencies, which lasted for two weeks in two Local government areas of Khana and Gokana, security agencies stormed two camps belonging to hoodlums and destroyed over 20 camps in the Ogoni forest”.

“We recovered four AK 47 rifles, four pump action guns, one Barretta pistols, one local made pistol, seven magazines, 60 rounds of 7.62 ammunition, one wooden carved rubber gun, sirens, charms and two toy guns.

“In another well-coordinated operation by personnel of the Tactical Units, some bushes were combed at the Rumuji Emuhua, Ogbakiri, Rumuodogo and Ndele communities, where hoodlums had taken over.

“The operation in the community lasted for two weeks, which resulted in the arrest of kidnappers, armed robbers and the recovery of large cache of arms. It was in the course of this operation that Ekwueme Brown (alias Lucifer) was killed in a crossfire between the police and the hoodlums.”