BY TONY EDIKE

ENUGU – An official of the State Security Service, SSS, in Enugu, Mr. Petrus Onwu, was shot dead by a four-man armed robbery gang operating on two motorcycles along Ogui road in Enugu metropolis, weekend.

The gang had earlier robbed a meat shop located at the old Artisan market where they shot a female sales girl, one Miss Philomena Udealor, on the leg and carted away an unspecified amount of money from the shop.

Vanguard learnt that the robbers, who were armed with sophisticated weapons, were said to be fleeing from the market when they saw the SSS officer driving in a Mercedes Benz car with his wife and children in the opposite direction and one of them shot him in the head.

The state police command, however, blamed rising wave of violent crimes in Enugu on activities of cult members who were on a revenge mission, after recent bloody clashes that claimed several lives.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebereb Amaraizu, who confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday, said the command had commenced investigations into the alleged cult activities and clashes that resulted in armed robbery and murder weekend.

He said: ”On May 4, 2012, men suspected to be cultists had allegedly struck twice on different locations with a motorcycle poparlarly known as Okada, wounding one Philomena Udealor, a sales girl with one meat shop located at Artisan market, dispossessing her of the daily proceeds made on that day.

“As they sited police patrol vehicle on distress call to the scene, the hoodlums fired sporadically and fled. One man later identified as Petrus Onwu, a staff of State Security Services, was also hit with a bullet on his head as he was driving with his wife in a Mercedez Benz 230E with registration no BS138 KJA along Ogui road during the said incident,” the police spokesman said.

He said the SSS staff, who was immediately rushed to Annunciation Hospital Emene, was later confirmed dead by the doctor and his corpse was deposited at the hospital’s mortuary for post mortem examination, while Philomena Udealor with gunshot wound who was admitted at Parklane Hospital, Enugu, is said to be responding to treatment.

Meanwhile, the state police commissioner, Musa Daura, has expressed displeasure over the incident, even as he directed Divisional Police Officers, DPOs, to ensure that no motorcycle operates in those routes which the state government had designated as a no-go area for motorcycles in the state.

He also assured that Okada menace and cult activities would soon be a thing of the past in the state and appealed for calm among the residents.