Ibori Orders Task Force To Beef Up Security In Sepele
FROM SUNNY OGEFERE, ASABA
GOVERNOR James Ibori of Delta State yesterday ordered men of the special military task operating in the Warri area to beef up security in Sapele town as robbers lay seige in the area.
The order is sequel to the frequent raids on commercial banks in the town, which, on Tuesday, claimed two lives.
Speaking after an unscheduled meeting with branch managers of banks in Sapele, Ibori said the directive became necessary following the inability of the police to cope with the incessant attacks by armed robbers who now use River Ethiope as their escape route.
"This is the fifth bank robbery in Sapele in the last couple of months. The robbers are always coming back because nobody has challenged them, and this must stop," the governor stated.
Ibori, who visited the escape route of the armed gangs, was particularly bitter at the inability of the police to tackle the criminals who use an abandoned jetty on the river.
"The distance from the jetty to the bank is very far. A gang of 20 or more, as I understand it, meandering all this community, up to the jetty, without any of them being caught shows that there must be a problem somewhere," he added.
He charged the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Sapele, Mr. Chris Omokhomon, and his men to live up to their responsibilities, noting that five successful bank robberies had taken place in Sapele since the DPO assumed duties in the area.
The governor, however, assured the banks of adequate protection, expressing the hope that soldiers attached to 'Operation Restore Hope' will do a good job.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Charles Akanya, said that the robbery incident on Tuesday was planned in Warri, where the robbers hired a commercial bus and two boats, which they kept at a creek in River Ethiope for escape after the operation.
Akanya claimed that only one casualty was recorded and that the amount carted away was yet to be ascertained.
He disclosed that a crack team of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad has been constituted to investigate the matter. The police chief called for useful information from the public, to unravel the identities of the robbers.
