• Arrests 7, others escape with gunshot wounds
By Job Osazuwa
The Nigerian Army said it has recovered cache of arms and seven decomposed human skulls, after it raided a militant camp in Omoko, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Spokesman of the 6 Division in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, told newsmen, yesterday, that five men and two women were arrested at the camp.
Iliyasu alleged some militants and their fleeing leader, Don Wanny, kidnapped and killed several innocent citizens in Rivers and Bayelsa states.
The spokesman listed weapons recovered from the camp as two AK 47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun, 18 AK 47 magazines, three FN rifle magazines, 39 7.62mm Nato ammunition and 20 9mm ammunition.
Others, he said, were 7.62mm ammunition, five Icom and Mag hand-held radios, two 25kg bags of cannabis, nine pairs of military camouflage, 10 human skulls and several bones.
He also disclosed the raid was part of renewed strategy by the division to restore law and order in Omoku, which has been terrorised by criminals for long.
“On Monday, we received a tip-off and thereafter, troops raided the camp and shrines of a notorious militant, cultist, kidnapper and an ardent oil thief popularly known as Don Wanny. After about an hour of gun fight, our troops overpowered the criminal elements due to superior fire power that sent the criminals scampering for safety,” he said.
Iliyasu said some of the alleged criminals, who sustained gunshot wounds, escaped by jumping into Orashi River in the area. However, seven of the suspects including two ladies were arrested, while they attempted to escape in the encounter that occurred at about 2:35 a.m. on Monday.
“It is believed that the main culprit, Don Wanny was not at the location during the encounter but efforts are on to track, arrest and bring him to justice,” he said.
Iliyasu thanked residents of the area for cooperating with security agencies and urged them to continue to provide timely information that would lead to the arrest of criminals in the state.
and its environs.