Description

It was not clear where the suspected armed robbers had operated before the pursuit but witnesses said policemen were in hot pursuit of the men from the Ajamogha area of the Warri metropolis.

The suspected armed robbers were said to have driven at a top speed through Esisi Road towards Warri/Sapele Road before they were overpowered by the policemen during an ensuing gunfight.

Sources disclosed that during the chase, there was an exchange of gunshots between the policemen and the robbers, a development that caused pandemonium in the area as residents scampered for their dear lives.

A resident who gave his name as Diamond said that the robbers lost control of their car after the driver of the vehicle was hit by bullets and died instantly at the Esisi Bridge, close to the PDP Warri South Secretariat and INEC office.

Sensing danger that the driver had been hit by a police bullet, the other gang members abandoned the vehicle and fled with bullet wounds, one source said.

When contacted, Delta State Police Command spokesperson DSP Bright Edafe confirmed the incident.

In a similar incident, a three-member gang popularly known as ‘Awala boys’ narrowly escaped death at the hands of local vigilantes in the Iyara Junction /Urhobo Road area of the locality.

The suspected armed robbers, who have been terrorising residents using public transport rickshaws popularly known as ‘keke’, were returning from a mission from the Merogun axis of Iyara when they were accosted by the gallant local vigilantes.

It was gathered that hoodlums narrowly escaped from the local vigilantes who mounted guard in the area through the Stadium Road to the McIiver Market area.

A resident of the area complained that the ‘Awala boys’ have been terrorising the Iyara Junction/Cemetery Road.

He stated that the crime wave would be drastically reduced if there was a constant raid of hard drugs spots in the area.