The police command in Delta has confirmed the death of two armed robbery suspects after a gun duel in Owvian Aladja, Udu local government area.

Its spokesman Bright Edafe said in a statement on Monday in Asaba that the two suspects, Gift Famous and Friday Onaibe died from gunshot wounds on Friday.

“On 2nd December 2022, the DPO Ovwian Aladja, CSP Aliyu Shaba, acting on a tip-off that two members of the dreaded “Momotimi Gang“ were sighted in a beer parlour at Opete community in Owvain Aladja, Udu LGA, mobilised and led a team of police operatives to the scene,” said the police statement. “They found the duo of Gift Famous A.K.A ‘BOBONE’ and Edafe Friday Onaibe A.K.A ‘LASLAS 1500’ of Enerhen.”

The police explained that the suspects had long been on the command’s wanted list for “their criminal exploits in Warri” and other parts of the state.

“The duo, on sighting the police, fired gunshots at them in a bid to escape and the police operatives returned fire, and in the ensuing gun duel, both suspects were fatally wounded,” the statement added.

The two suspects confessed to several robberies on their way to the hospital, said the police, revealing that they confessed to the murder of Douglas Abugu in Ekpan on August 18.

According to the police, Mr Famous also confessed to the murder of an individual identified as ‘Small Doctor’ in Ekpan axis on August 22 and the attempted kidnap of a man in Ekpan.

“However, the two suspects died from their injuries on the way to the hospital. The police have launched a manhunt for the other members of the gang. The police recovered two locally-made guns from the suspects, one single-barrel pistol and a double-barrel shotgun. Also recovered are six live cartridges and one round of 7.62 AK-47 ammunition,” the police explained.

(NAN)