Deji Lambo
One person has been killed after operatives of the Lagos State Police Command clashed with some suspected cult members in the Owode area of Lagos State on Wednesday.
The operatives had reportedly received a report that the hoodlums allegedly stabbed a rival cult member, Sylvester Chikwendu, to death in the Alapera area of the state.
The policemen were said to have ambushed the suspects at Thomas bus stop, Owode.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, in a statement on Thursday, said in a bid to evade arrest, the cult members opened fire on the police team, adding that the operatives fired back.
A member of the group was said to have been hit by a bullet and died on the spot.
Oti noted that other members of the gang fled with bullet wounds, adding that their operational vehicle and ammunition were recovered from the scene.
He said, “The onslaught against the twin evil of armed robbery and cultism in the state ended on a high note on Tuesday, September 19, 2018, around 8:30pm, when operatives of the Lagos State Police Command not only intercepted a rampaging criminal gang, but killed one of them during a gun battle.
“A tip-off from a well meaning citizen to the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Owode Onirin, Ikorodu, Lagos, changed the game for the terror gang, who had around 6.40pm on the same day at Demuren Street, Alapere, stabbed one Sylvester Chikwendu, 32, suspected to be a rival cult member, to death.
“Sequel to the information, the DPO mobilised a crack team to Thomas bus stop, Owode. He told his men to narrow the road and gave them a clear description of the gang’s operational vehicle.
“When the gang approached the police zone, they became desperate and opened fire on the operatives in their last ditched effort to evade arrest, eliciting immediate response from the team
“However, in the ensuing gun battle, one of them was fatally wounded, while the others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds. They abandoned the following items at the scene; their operational vehicle, a Toyota Camry saloon, one pump-action rifle, one locally-made revolver pistol, one locally-made single-barrelled pistol, five live 9mm calibre ammunition, three live cartridges, two expended cartridges, two cutlasses, charms and assorted clothing.”
Oti said the command’s swift response to the crime was a signal that the state was unrelenting in its quest to combat criminal activities in the state.
He said, “The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi, said the quick resolution of a crime that started at Alapere should signal to criminal elements that security in place in the state is virtually impregnable.
“He added that now that the ember months had come, police personnel serving in the state are under firm instruction to decisively subdue perpetrators of violent crimes.
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