The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar and the Delta State Government are being notified of recent invasion of Agadama Community by suspected hoodlums and leading to complete breakdown of law and order in the area.
The unfortunate development has made the people of Agadama Community in Uwheru kingdom, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State to raised the alarm as a result of the alleged take over of their community by dreaded armed bandits.
They said that the call for help from the Delta State Government and the IGP became inevitable after several efforts made to get police authorities in the state failed to yield positive result, saying that they now sleep with one eye closed.
In a statement made available to Blank NEWS Online at the weekend in Agadama Community, the High Priest and Chairman of Uwheru Clan Vigilante group, Chief Famous Eritomi, revealed that the vigilante group has encountered series of illegal road blocks mounted by armed bandits along the Ughelli/Patani highway since December last year, adding that the vigilante group has had a face to face gun battle with the hoodlums in several occasion.
“I called the DPO of A’Division and I told him that we have arrested an informant of the armed robbers that are disturbing the road. The boy has confessed that he is the one that always take their guns to road for them. He said he uses an insecticide pumping can to carry their guns for them. He also confessed that they have two AK 47 riffles they recovered from Fulani men some years ago.
“We brought the boy the A’ Division Police Station and the DPO gave us two policemen to go and raid the place. We raided Daniel’s house without any casualties because they have escaped before we got there. We then arrested two girls that we met in the house.”
Chief Eritomi also alleged that since the arrest of one of the suspected armed robbers, one Community Leader in Agadama Community (names withheld) who act as the godfather to the armed robbers, went and gathered all the armed robbers in and around the community and they have been terrorizing them killing, maiming, raping their women, burning and destroying houses and property including schools in the community.
He said people in that community now live in perpetual fear as the armed robbers have succeeded in holding the whole community hostage, adding that even the police could not enter into the community without being challenged by the armed robbers.
He said the susupected hoodlums also attacked one of the teachers teaching at Izeze Primary school Agadama, adding that they have succeeded in chasing away all the teachers and pupils in both the secondary and primary school in the community, just as he said that the Local Education Authority Secretary who went there to see things for himself with his team were chased away by the armed bandits.
Speaking to our correspondent on phone, the Local Education Authority Secretary, Ughelli North Local Government Area, Evangelist Peter Emazobu confirmed that he and his men were attacked while trying to inspect the level of damage done by the armed robbers in the school.
According to Evangelist Emazobu; “I and my men were attached by these armed robbers as I was supervising the level of damage in the school. The group swam on us brandishing all sorts of weapons and began to chase us. My men and I managed to escape death by the whiskers as we took to our heels. The matter has been reported to the DPO, A’ Division Police Station, Ughelli.”
Evangelist Emazobu lamented that even as the matter has been reported to the police nothing seems to have been done concerning the issue. He therefore, called on the state government to as a matter of urgency fish out those responsible for the destruction and closing down of the school to avoid future occurrence.
Also a primary school teacher in Agadama Community, Evangelist Edward Agare has this story to tell on how he was attacked by the hoodlums.
“I am a teacher in Agadama Primary School. Actually I did not know what was happening but I was surprised to see about 22 boys fully armed came to the school and started destroying things. They came after me and I managed to run into the bush and escaped for my dear life. They do a lot of things in the community. They harass people, rape women, kidnap people and do whatever they like and there is nobody to challenge them.
“They also came for my son. They caught him and asked him to kneel down and they were cutting him with their cutlasses and battle axes. If not for God’s intervention my son would have been killed. But he also managed to escape from them.”
Efforts to get the DPO A-Divsion Police Station, Ughelli, Mr. Garaje Gando proved abortive as at the time of filing this report, as he never returned the call our correspondent put across to him on his cell phone as he promised.
