UPDATE on Killings of Warri Prisons Officials: Student Arrested Over Alleged Killing of 2 Prisons Officials

On March 13th, 2013, A police van conveying prisoners to a Delta State High Court, Warri was attacked by unknown gunmen who apparently had a foreknowledge of the movement. The Gunmen attacked the Black Maria conveying nine high profile suspects to court on Wednesday, March 13th, and escaped with five of their colleagues and service rifles of the prison officials, after killing some prisons officials, and leaving others injured.

Meanwhile, the authorities of the Nigerian Prisons Service, NPS, appeared to have shunned the police over the incident.

 

Death toll in Wednesday’s attack on the escort team of the Federal Prisons, Warri, Delta State, by yet-to-be-identified gunmen has risen to six.

It was gathered that two inmates of the prisons, who were among nine suspects being taken to Warri High Court for trial, died in the early hours of March 14th.

They were among the injured rushed to Warri General Hospital in the wake of the bloody encounter.

Two of the prisons wardens accompanying the suspects on the ill-fated trip died in the incident on Wednesday while three other prison officials sustained gunshot injuries.
They were at the intensive care unit of the Warri General Hospital at press time.
One of the inmates also died on the spot.

An official of the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, Mr. Julius Ogungbemi, who also died in the attack, was killed by the gunmen, who snatched his Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, at Effurun, apparently in desperation to evade the security agents.

His SUV was later recovered by the police at Isiokolo, the headquarters of Ethiope East Local Government.

The Nigerian Police Force vowed to fish out the perpetrators of this great evil...

 The Update

A final year Physics student of the Delta State University, Delsu, Abraka, has been arrested by men of the 3 Battalion, Nigeria Army Effurun, Warri

Ebruke Oghenekohworho, 34, was arrested in connection with last week killings of two Prison officials, a mechanical Engineering lecturer of PTI and release of five prison inmates in Warri.

The military men last Monday also recovered a Toyota Camry number plate No. LAGOS LND 519 BE belonging to the mastermind of the attack on prison officials simply identified as Kelvin in an encounter that saw the kidnap kingpin fleeing, leaving behind his GSM handset at Kokori junction in Ethiope East Council area of DeltaState.

Commanding Officer, 3 battalion, Lt. Col. Ikechukwu Otu gave this details, in an interactive session with newsmen, saying that Ebruke a.k.a Ajanti is the driver of the kidnap kingpin, Kelvin. Also caught by the soldiers is one Mr. Atibaka Tega.

He said the duo were apprehended following analysis of phone calls made by Kelvin from his recovered handset.

Lt-Col Otu said they had encountered Kelvin two days earlier at Kokori before the Warri attack on prison officials, who were escorting nine inmates to a State High Court for trial.

According to him, his men intercepted Kelvin and his boys, Wednesday, at Okoimode village in a maroon colored Honda Pilot Jeep with plate No. Lagos GQ 646 LND and shot dead one Mr. Victor Kala who turned out to be one of the rescued inmate from their prison attack escapade in Warri, saying that the jeep whose owner was also kidnapped was subsequently released by soldiers while the car and the corpse were handed over to the police area command in Warri.

Speaking to newsmen during the parade of a set of multiple criminals nabbed during the week, Mr. Ebruke said he has since retired from robbery, criminal acts and cultism of the black axe bent for a long time and now a member of Golden Temple Power of God Church, a spiritual Church from where he help to fight criminals and criminal acts around his communities.

Ebruke who claimed to be a final year Physics student of Delsu and speaks very fluent English and said he does not know anything about the notorious Kelvin nor does he know anybody called Kelvin but admitted knowing one criminal named Kelly, adding that he does not know how his phone number came into Kelvin’s phone as claimed by the soldiers who said they trailed and got him through analysis of calls from Kelvin’s phone.

He said his arrest was master minded by some persons in his community who he claimed he had some problems with, saying that his pastor would soon be around to clear him.