Vigilante operatives arrest man for snatching police officers’ pistol in Rivers

Hands him over to Rivers CP Disu

By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Vigilante operatives in Diobu area of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, have apprehendend one Sokipri Warmet alia Soki for allegedly disarming a police officer of his service pistol.

It was gathered that the suspect was subsequently handed over to Rivers Commissioner of Police, CP Tunji Disu.

Soki was said to have disarmed the officer at Ikwere Road by the popular Education Bus Stop in Port Harcourt during a brief argument between the police officer, a bus conductor and his driver.

It was learnt that the Diobu vigilante operatives got the information and swung into action, knowing the criminal intent and the harm against the public the pistol can be used for if not retrieved.

According to a statement by the vigilante group, ”We placed him Soki on surveillance, apprehended him, recovered the Police Servicing pistol and handed him and the service pistol over to the Commissioner of Police for further investigation”.

Meanwhile, the suspect, Sokipri Warmet claimed that he collected the pistol after it fell down from the officer.

He said, “it was the conductor of a bus the officer entered that alerted us that the man who is the officer and on mufi is disturbing him (conductor) and does not want the officer in his bus.

“So we asked the man to come down, but he was proving too hard man and brought out the pistol that he is a hard man.

“When he was trying to force himself into the bus back, the magazine fell and I snatched the pistol from him and ran.”