Kidnap kingpin arrested in Delta, two killed in gun battle

…Other Gang Members Escape With Bullet Wounds

The joint military patrol team attached to the 19 battalion of the Nigeria Army in Sapele, Delta State has arrested a kidnap kingpin identified as Robinson Okotie. While the Okotie’s criminal activities has unsettled the people of Sapele community, leader of the patrol team, Lt Col. Aji Mohammed confirmed his arrest yesterday, saying the suspect was arrested around Ugbeyiyi Junction by Memory Super Market in Sapele, upon which he duly confessed to being a member of the kidnapping ring that has been operating in Sapele and its environs.

He said that the suspect also confessed to have been responsible for the killing of two soldiers in the area recently who were on routine patrol along Ovoh Creek.
Accordingly, the suspect led the team to their hideout where they arrested one David Adogbefi, another gang member. Okotie also confessed to terrorizing the creeks including Benin River Oil Workers in the recent times.

Mohammed added that during search for the arrest of other gang members in the creek, the team engaged a few members in a fierce gun battle where two of the suspects were killed by the military, while others escaped with bullet wounds.