Edo state police command on Wednesday said it has re-arrested 18 of the runaway inmates who escaped from the two medium correctional centres in Benin, during the #EndSARS prison break.
Besides, it said 16 cultists and 14 suspected armed robbers who have been terrorizing the state capital were also nabbed in its renewed onslaught against violent criminals.
It would be recalled that Upper Sakponba Road, Third East Circular Road, Ogida Quarters, Okhoro Road and other black spots in Benin metropolis are the scenes of an ongoing bloody feud between suspected rival cultists, which has led to the untimely death of scores of people, mostly youths.
The state commissioner of police, Johnson Babatunde Kokumon, who made this known during a parade of the suspects, said that policemen are not folding their arms watching as hoodlums have a field day.
“We are not folding our arms and watch the hoodlums have a field day. Our main concern now is geared towards re-arresting the escapees and recovering the looted and other illicit arms and ammunition in circulation.
“To this end, the police and other security agencies in conjunction with the state government put machineries in place to checkmate the activities of these rampaging hoodlums, which have yielded some positive results,” he said.
According to the CP, among the robbery suspects was one Sunday Ezekiel, who was arrested for allegedly robbing one Blessing Ebodaghe Ovbokhan of the sum of N400,000.00, at her POS stand, along Lucky Way Benin City.
He however assured that the police will not rest on its oars until all the arms and ammunition carted away by the hoodlums were recovered as well as rearresting of all escaped inmates.
Items recovered from the suspects include two AK 47 assault rifles, four locally made guns, 21 live cartridges, one Toyota Yaris Saloon car marked UBJ-447-SZ, and a Toyota Highlander marked DGE-524-AH were recovered from the suspects.
