ABAKALIKI—EBONYI State Police Command, yesterday said it arrested 18 suspected armed robbers, cultists and vandals. The command also said it recovered three AK-47 rifles, four locally-made pistols and live ammunition, among others from the suspects.

Briefing newsmen at the command headquarters in Abakaliki, Commissioner of Police, CP, Peace Abdallah, who explained that the suspects were arrested at different points in the state, noted that hoodlums inflicted bullet wounds and machete cuts on a police patrol team before snatching three AK 47 rifles from the team.

According to him: “While the police officers are hospitalized, the command through intelligence-led policing, smashed an intended robbery attack by the same gang and arrested three members. The three police AK47 rifles were recovered with 13 live ammunition. The suspects confessed that they had planned to block Lokoja/Abuja highway to rob innocent citizens before the command aborted their planned operations.”

Some of the suspected armed robbers, cultists and those arrested for unlawful possession of arms included: Ndubuisi Iseh, 23, Uchenna Nweke, 24, Sunday Elom, Samuel Agha, 28, Francis Okoro Inya, 23, Chukwu Ogbonnaya Inya, 27, Onyema Nwali, 32, John Nwopokwu, 22, Friday Nwakpa, 26, Nnanna Igwe, 22, Ugbu John, 30.

According to the CP, Ndubuisi Ogbonnia, 18, Chinedu Gabriel, 21, of Amasiri community in Afikpo North Local Government Area, LGA, and Odinaka Nwafor, 21 of Ezza Effium and Sunday Akpu of Igbudu Ekka village in Ezza South LGA, who were arrested over vandalism of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, transformer had already been arraigned in court and were facing trial.

She called on the general public to always give useful information that would aid the command stamp out crimes and criminality from the state.