SEVEN ARMED ROBBERS KILLED BY POLICE IN EDO STATE

Seven suspected robbers were shot dead, Sunday, along the notorious Benin by-pass, during a gun battle between the police and the robbers.

The operation was personally led by the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Folusho Adebanjo.

At press time, the CP and a special squad of detectives were still combing the area popular referred as haven for robbers. Some of the robbers, according to CP Adebanjo, were still in the bushes with bullet wounds.

As at 10:30am when the bodies of the dead robbers were brought to the Edo State Police Command, one of the robbers who identified himself as Sanda from Kebbi State, was still alive and he confessed that he only joined his dead colleagues for the first time, because he needed money to go back to Kebbi State.

One AK 47, cutlasses and assorted charms were recovered from the armed bandits. It would be recalled that passengers and drivers have been robbed almost on daily basis along the Benin by-pass, while in most cases the women among the passengers were Molested by the armed bandits who are mainly Hausa Fulanis.

However, Adebanjo who is known for his zero tolerance as regards activities of robbers in the state narrated that “this operation took place at about 5:30-6am. Because we noticed that arm robbers who operate there always come out early hours when people are traveling or going to the market for their businesses.
Their activities along that by-pass have become an embarrassment and with intelligence which we gathered, we laid an ambush.

“What happens is that they normally come with a bus where they load themselves and when they get to the by-pass they distribute themselves to different locations to perpetrate their evil. You will look at the bus as an old one, maybe you will even think they are going to the farm but they are dare devil armed robbers.
 “You know that the by-pass leads to different states but unfortunately these hoodlums made that place haven for operation. So we stormed there this morning following a tip off, we met them and engaged them. They engaged us too the result is what you are looking at now.
Some of them are still in the bushes with bullet wounds, my men are still there pushing them and I am going back there myself because we are going to round all of them up.
“Armed robbers cannot be safe anywhere in Edo state. That is the message we have for them throughout this festive period and next year” he asserted.