2 suspects killed as police arrest gang behind Ngige convoy attack

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested members of a criminal gang linked to the recent attack on the convoy of a former Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige. Two of the suspects were killed during a gun battle with security operatives.

Police authorities described the operation as a major breakthrough in their ongoing efforts to dismantle criminal networks and enhance the safety of lives and property across the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said operatives of the Rapid Response Squad from Awkuzu acted on credible intelligence and laid an ambush for the suspects at the Enugwu Agidi junction.

According to him, the operation targeted a five-man gang believed to be responsible for violent attacks in the area, including the recent assault on the former minister’s convoy

He added that the suspects engaged the police in a gun duel, which led to the death of two of them, while others were arrested.

Ikenga said the suspects, believed to be armed robbers and cultists with links to a proscribed secessionist group, engaged the operatives in a gun battle upon sighting them.

“During the exchange, which lasted about two hours, two of the armed suspects sustained fatal gunshot injuries, while three others escaped with varying degrees of injuries,” the PPRO stated.

He added that the operatives recovered one T.06 rifle, two pump-action guns, 24 rounds of T.06 ammunition, 15 live cartridges, assorted criminal charms, a cult red beret, and a black Toyota Highlander vehicle.

Ikenga disclosed that one of the suspects, before dying, confessed that members of the gang were involved in the earlier attack on Senator Ngige’s convoy. The suspect also admitted to being part of the strike squad of the Vikings confraternity, allegedly on a retaliatory mission following the killing of one of their members by a rival cult group.

Commending the operatives for their gallantry, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ikioye Orutugu, directed them to intensify efforts to track down and arrest the fleeing suspects.

He also urged hospitals and other medical facilities to treat individuals with gunshot injuries, while promptly reporting such cases to the nearest police station.