Daewoo lose N40M in yet another armed attack

Local media reports said about 20 men, suspected to be armed robbers, stormed the premises of Deawoo, an oil servicing company situated in Abam, Okrika local government area of Rivers state and made away with about N40 million.

Though reports had it that the armed men, who came into the company from the waterfront, through the jetty, in four speedboats, were armed with deadly weapons like General Purpose Machine Gun (GMPG) and AK47, no record of death or injury was reported.

According to a statement issued by the Rivers state Police command and signed by its Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Ireju Barasua (DSP), the armed men “were engaged in a shootout with a combined team of police, navy and soldiers on patrol and guard duty along the jetty.”

Confirming the story, the State Police Commissioner said it was true that about N40 million was carted away in the robbery incident. He, however, refused to confirm the casualty figure but said those wounded during the incident had been taken to the hospital.

However, despite the efforts of security men, the armed men escaped with their N40 million loot from the premises of the company. They bolted away in their “standby boat through the waterways”.

Meanwhile, the police said the company’s accountant, whose name was not given, had been arrested and that the case has been transferred to the state CID in Port Harcourt for further investigation.

The command then called on members of the public who might have useful information about the hoodlums who have been unleashing terror on the state in recent times to come forward with useful information.

The spate of violence rocking the Niger Delta has taken a new dimension as militants launched a bloody attack on the operational base of an Italian oil firm, Agip in Port Harcourt killing nine people including eight policemen last Tuesday.
This comes as the United States declared that there was lack of law and order in Nigeria, which it said posed considerable risks to its citizens and other expatriates.

In a massive attack that is bound to further heighten tension in the oil-producing region, the armed gang said to number about 30 and armed with AK-47 assault rifles, arrived at Agip�s sprawling complex in two speed boats and wrecked havoc in a gun duel that lasted for several hours.

There was, however, conflicting reports as to the actual motives of the gunmen. While the Nigeria Police Force said yesterday that its men were killed while on guard Agip facilities, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) said that the attackers had their sight on cash centres operated by three banks within the complex and that they had engaged the policemen on guard of the premises in a lengthy shootout.