Police kill prison escapee turned armed robber in Edo – Punch Newspapers
The Edo State Police Command on Wednesday said it had killed a notorious armed robber cum cultist, who was said to have escaped from the Edo State Correctional Centre during the October 2020 End SARS riots.
In a statement issued by the Command spokesman, SP Bello Kontongs, the deceased who known as Fidelis Ekata, had been on the wanted list of the command before he was sighted in the Uromi axis of the state with his gang members, where he was gunned down.
According to the statement, the deceased died of gunshot wound he sustained when he took on police operatives in Uromi.
The statement reads in parts: “Today 02/03/2022 at about 10:00hrs, operatives of Edo State Police Command, acting on credible information that a notorious armed robber/cultist popularly known as Ekata and an escapee of the Edo State Correctional Center Benin during the October 2020 EndSARS protest, who has been on the Command’s wanted list, was sighted somewhere in Uromi town in company of his other gang members.
“On receipt of the information, the Area Commander, Uromi, immediately deployed a team of Police Operatives to the location. On sighting the team of operatives, the gang opened fire on them, while the team gallantly responded.
“In the ensuing gun duel, one Fidelis Ekata ‘M’ who is the gang leader of the armed robbers/cultist sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to General Hospital Uromi for treatment but was confirmed dead by the Doctor on duty, while other gang members escaped with gunshot injuries.
“Effort is on to ensure the arrest of the fleeing gang members. The following items were recovered from the dead gang leader. One cut-to-size gun and one live cartridge.
“Meanwhile, the state’s Commissioner of Police, while commending the gallantry exhibited by the team, advised criminals in the state to eschew criminality or risk being arrested,” the statement added.
