Bullion van robbery: Abia Police nab ex-DSS operative, 9 others, recover N10 million, arms

From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia

Abia State Police command on Monday paraded 1O suspected armed robbers arrested in connection with the July 26, 2022 armed robbery attack on a bullion van conveying cash to a bank in Umuahia, the state capital.

The attack occurred near Ntigah junction, on the Enugu-Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway during which a cash officer of the bank was shot dead, alongside one of the robbers.

Those paraded were a dismissed officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Prosper Israel, his younger brother, Chinwendu Israel and eight others.

The Other suspect include Adesoji Adeniyi (a.k.a ‘Soji” – male) from Ondo state, resident and arrested in Lagos State, Nnamdi Nwaosu (a.k.a ‘Prophet’ – male) from Rivers state, resident and arrested in Imo State and Nwachukwu Albert (a.k.a White – male), first Armourer, from Delta State, resident and arrested in Lagos state.

The rest were Felix Ajalaja (male) from Ondo state, resident and arrested in Rivers state, Moshood Opeyemi (a.k.a Abiola – male) from Osun State, resident and arrested in Rivers State, Matthew Christmas (a.k.a Aluwa – male) from Delta State, resident and arrested in Delta State, Azubuike Amaefula (a.k.a Zubby – male) from Abia State, resident and arrested in Rivers State and Monday Samuel (a.k.a MD- -male), second Armourer) from Delta State, resident and arrested in Ondo state.

Exhibits recovered from them include, one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with 53 rounds of live ammunition, Thirteen AK47 rifles with 1,749 live ammunition, Two improvised explosive, one cut-to-size double barrel gun with 5 live cartridges, and Eighty 84 AK47 magazines.

Others include a Mercedes Benz mini truck they used in concealing their firearms and Cash of N10.1 million only.

Agbede told newsmen that all the suspects, “in their individual voluntary statements, confessed belonging to a 14-man awful armed robbery gang with specialty in bullion van attacks and that for about two months before the attack, the Bullion van had been under their surveillance.”

She said they were arrested for robbing a billion van loaded with cash.

According to the Abia CP, the arrest of the suspects followed a careful study of their modus operandi, after which a special intelligence technologically-led investigation squad (ITLIS) was set up with a clear directive to arrest and recover weapons used by the deadly armed robbery gang.

She advised parents, Guardians, husbands, wives and children to always know the sources of one another’s livelihood.

In his confessional statement, Mr. Prosper Israel, the ex-DSS official said he was dismissed from service in 2007 after his deployment to Government House, Umuahia.

According to the Ugwunagbo-born suspected robber, before he could return to his station, he was tried and summarily dismissed in absentia.

He said that his younger brother, along with his “colleagues,” brought money and shared in his house and gave him part of it.

On whether he was aware that his brother was into robbery, he answered in affirmative and expressed regret for his action, while he appealed for forgiveness.   

The robbery gang had on July 26, 2022, waylaid the bullion van being escorted by the Police, along Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway near Ntigha Junction in Isiala Ngwa North L.G.A of Abia State, killing the Cash officer on the spot.