A member of the Don Waney armed robbery and kidnap gang, who participated in the New Year attack in Omoku, Rivers State Desmond Okotubo, has revealed that “the arrest and humiliation of the mother of Don Waney, coupled with the destruction of Waney’s mansions was the main reason for the New Year attack in Omoku.”
The 32-year-old Okotubo, who is a father of three, hails from Egbenma in Unelga Local Government Area of Rivers State, disclosed this Thursday when he was paraded at the Police Headquarters.
He further revealed “that the plan to invade Omoku was hatched in Owerri, Imo State,” adding that Omoku vigilante group members were their original targets and not church worshippers.
Okotubo further explained that their decision to vent their anger on the worshippers came when they could not track down the vigilante group members.
He said vigilante members were instrumental to the arrest of Don Waney’s mother and tracing of his mansions for destruction by government.
Okotubo said that their gang leader Don Wanny had gathered them and briefed them on the night of Dec. 31, 2017 on the mission to attack and kill the residents of Omoku town, stating that 30 of them armed with over 20 AK47 Rifles crossed the river from Awara to Omoku forest and proceeded to Omoku town and opened fire on innocent citizens celebrating the new year.
Recalled that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, had set-up special Police joint investigation team, comprising the IGP-Intelligence Response Team, the Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department, Force Department of Operations and the Rivers State Police Command to immediately unravel those behind the killings and bring them to Justice.
The IGP-Intelligence Response Team attached to the Joint Police Special Investigation Team engaged some of the suspects in their hideouts in Awara Forest boundary between Imo and Rivers State, the shoot out lasting several hours resulted in the death of six of the suspects while others escaped with bullet wound injury to other locations in Rivers, Delta, Imo and Bayelsa States and the Police Teams are currently on their trail.
Working on an actionable intelligence, the IGP-Intelligence Response Team further identified Desmond Okotubo who escaped on the 3rd January, 2018 to Abuja after a shoot out with the Police Team in a location in Imo State, before he was trailed to Mpape in Abuja where he was arrested after serious resistance on the 9th January, 2018.