Armed police operatives allegedly raid shop, rob residents of phones

The police in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, have arrested their operatives accused of raiding a shop in the state and robbing residents of their mobile phones.

The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Awka, Anambra State.

A photo of the arrested operatives – six of them – has been circulating on X.

Mr Ikenga, a police superintendent, said a video posted on social media of residents protesting against the action of the operatives prompted the arrest.

He did not, however, mention in the statement what the operatives were accused of. He did not also mention the community where the incident happened.

The video posted on X showed many residents gathered by a roadside and a male voice in the background, narrating what happened.

“This is what happened this morning,” the man began narrating.

“Police operatives from Otuocha invaded a shop where people were charging their phones and started shooting indiscriminately. They stole all the phones and ran away. This is robbery,” he said.

The incident happened Thursday at Umueri, Otuocha, a community in Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The video showed empty bullet shells and tear-gas shells lying by the roadside, which the man who narrated the incident said were fired by the rogue police operatives.

“The officer (who led the team) mentioned in the video has been identified,” Mr Ikenga said.

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“The Command also invites the victims to come forward to help facilitate the necessary action involved in the investigation.

“The Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Itam, calls for calm and urges citizens to utilise the channels of the complaint against police officers rather than being unruly as seen in the video blocking the express road, thereby infringing on the fundamental rights of others,” he added.