Pandemonium Erupts As One Dies After Police Raided Robbers' Hideout In Bayelsa

It was pure pandemonium that took over the Ovom area of Yenagoa, the Bayelsa capital recently.

The pandemonium erupted after a policeman attached to the state police command on Thursday reportedly shot and killed a boy.

The police have denied the incident, saying the deceased was a suspect who tried to evade arrest and sustained a neck injury while attempting to escape through the ceiling.

SP Asinim Butswat, Police Public Relations Officer, said in a statement: “On 18 March 2021 at about 1100hours, the following suspects: ThankGod Edwin, Emomotimi Ebiye and James Ebala were apprehended at Yenezue-gene, Yenagoa, by the Hausa community where the suspects came to dispose of three android phones stolen at gunpoint. They were subsequently handed over to the police for investigation.

“Upon interrogation, the suspects confessed to have stolen the phones from the owners at gunpoint. They led police operatives to their hideout at Ovom, Yenagoa to recover the gun used in the operation. On sighting the policemen, one of the suspects tried to escape through the ceiling and jumped out in a bid to escape. He subsequently sustained a neck injury. He was taken to the Federal Medical Centre, where a doctor certified him dead.

“A locally made pistol was recovered in the ceiling of the building. The corpse has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.

"The Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, CP Mike Okoli, appeals for calm and has ordered for a full-scale investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death of the suspect.”

Also, the state governor, Douye Diri has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of the youth.

Diri in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, directed that an autopsy should be carried out to determine the cause of death.

He said the government would ensure perpetrators of the dastardly act are found and brought to justice.

"Human life is sacred. As a responsible government, we will not shy away from our responsibility of protecting it. Anyone who takes another person's life will be held accountable through the laws of the land," he said.