Troops from Sector 1 of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, seized three suspects in Delta State for their possession of an alarming arsenal of firearms.
The trio, identified as Abel Festus, Ramsey Akporoyibo, and Stephen Omah, were caught red-handed with five pump-action rifles, a Dane gun, a battle axe, and a staggering 51 cartridges stashed away inside a vehicle registered in Abuja with the plate number YAB 347 CQ.
According to a statement released on Friday by Major Emmanuel Onoja, the Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, the suspects were apprehended while cruising in a Lexus RX 350 through the Oghareki community in Ethiope West local government area.
Major Onoja hailed the operation as a remarkable success and confirmed that the suspects are now in custody, subject to a thorough investigation.
In a separate incident, operatives from the Delta State Police Command arrested a 50-year-old man for the alleged defilement of a 4-year-old girl in Ubulu-Uku, Aniocha South local government area.
The trouble began on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, when the child was sent to her grandmother’s house after school, following her mother’s instructions while she attended a fasting and prayer program at church.
Relaying the heartbreaking incident, the mother explained that she directed her daughter to her grandmother’s home since she wouldn’t be there when school ended. Later that day, when it was bath time, the little girl complained of pain in her private area, prompting her mother to investigate.
“I needed to see it,” the mother recounted. “When I looked, I found sperm. I asked her who had done this, and she pointed to that brother with an injury on his leg.”
Distraught yet reluctant to confront him directly, she opted instead to vent her frustration into curses before reporting the ordeal to her uncle the following day.
“My uncle advised me to approach the police at Ubulu-Uku, and they urged us to seek medical examination for my daughter. The doctor confirmed it was him,” she alleged.
Confirming the incident, SP Edafe Bright, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, stated, “Earlier today, we promptly responded to a report of a 50-plus-year-old man allegedly defiling a 4-year-old child.
“Our first step was to take the child to a government hospital, where the doctors confirmed she had been violated. Following that, we captured the suspect, allowing the girl to guide us to the man who had assaulted her.
“He has since been transferred to the Divisional Police Headquarters in Ogwashi Uku, where he is currently detained,” SP Edafe revealed, adding that the suspect would be taken to Command headquarters once the local division completes its preliminary investigation.
