Repent or Rest In Pieces, Police Warn Criminals In Anambra   

Raymond Ozoji, Awka

The Police in Anambra state yesterday reminded criminals that they have not reneged on their position to stamp out crime and criminalities in the state.

They reiterated their warnings to hoodlums, saying that it is either they chose true repentance from criminalities on the one hand or they would be compelled to rest in pieces in the abyss on the other hand.

That was the solemn reminder made by the commissioner of police in Anambra CP John Bassey Abang during the parade of some suspects at the command headquarters Awka.

The commissioner of police who spoke through the Police Public Relations Officer of the command  SP Haruna Mohammed, said the police would not swallow their spittle in their efforts to ensure that Anambra state was not held hostage by men of the underworld.

He said the police apprehended some suspects in connection with murder cum armed robbery as well as arrest of gunmen suspected to be members of a car snatching syndicate.

According to the police boss, another case was the arrest of a suspected cult member who allegedly inflicted injury on an Okada rider, noting that about 108 suspected cultists were apprehended during their operations recently.

The police commissioner also disclosed the arrest of three male adults who allegedly impersonated the Nigerian Army, claiming that they were serving military officers with fake identity proof at different locations in the state.

The arrest of a suspected gun runner, aged 18 at Unizik Awka, was the climax of all the suspects paraded at the command headquarters. The commissioner said that the young lad was arrested with a bag containing two locally made single barrel short guns, five cartridges and dry leaves suspected to be cannabis sativa.

Another shocking story the commissioner reported was the  arrest of a middle aged man at Bridge head Onitsha with a bag in his possession containing two thousand pieces of live cartridges. The commissioner disclosed further that the susoect was currently assisting the police with useful information about the motive for bringing such cartridges and how he got them.

The most pathetic of the crimes the commissioner reported was the arrest of one Onyinye Ugochukwu aged 21, a female student of a tertiary institution in Oko, Orumba-North local government area of Anambra state.

He said the suspect who was allegedly pregnant, went into labor in the toilet and delivered a baby girl and threw the baby through the window of the toilet.

He said the baby was rescued and rushed to the hospital for urgent medical attention and presently responding to treatment along with the mother.

Abang said a total of 122 suspects have been arrested, out of which 25 persons were charged to court for prosecution. Thirty-four were screened out and released unconditionally while 63 others are currently undergoing investigations. Also 15 firearms and over 2000 live cartridges were recovered.

The commissioner stated that when questioned on why she abandoned her baby, the suspect claimed that she doesn’t know the biological father of the child, though case is still under investigation.

The police commissioner however expressed the belief that the recent approval by the Police Inspector-General, IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, for the recruitment of Special Constabulary in various communities to complement the efforts of the police, will further enhance safety and security in Anambra state and the nation at large.