Suspected armed robber confessed how they killed DPO during operation
A leader of an armed robbery gang called Ogaga Dickson, who, along with his members killed a Divisional Police Officer in Delta State Police Command, has disclosed how he joined a gang of thieves before he upgraded his criminal activity to involve snatching of vehicles at gun point.
Dickson also spoke on the robbery operation that led to an encounter with the police, resulting in the killing of the DPO of Agbarho Division, CSP Hassan Jega, on October 14, 2024, saying his gang knew when the police officer fell during the gunfire exchange, but didn’t know he was a DPO.
However, operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force proved their mettle in intelligence gathering and tracking suspects as they arrested Dickson on November 1, 2024, less than three weeks after the killing of the DPO. Also apprehended was the buyer of the stolen and snatched vehicles, Chibike Umeh.
According to Tribune, the suspected cop killer was among the suspects paraded on Monday, January 6, by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, to showcase the achievements of the police in cracking criminal gangs and arresting suspects.
Parading the suspect, the Force PRO disclosed that Dickson, aged 35, was the leader of a notorious armed robbery syndicate responsible for the death of the DPO, Agbarho Division in Delta, CSP Jega, who was killed during a fierce gun battle between a team of police officers, led by the deceased DPO, and the assailants.
ACP Adejobi said that the operatives had earlier stormed the gang’s hideout and engaged them in a fierce gun duel, leading to the neutralisation of four of the gang members.
He added that the police recovered one AK-47 rifle, one English pistol, one locally-made pistol, ammunition of various calibres and six exotic vehicles.
In an interview, Dickson narrated how he got into the crime world: “I was a welder before my friend, John Linus, introduced me to stealing cars from where they are parked. I met him in Sapele. I had money issues in my welding job because I joined a welder like me to work. My salary was reduced and I left. Before the issue, I had met John. We closed from work one day and I was with John when his car broke down. We helped him and we exchanged numbers. We became friends, and he would give me money whenever I called him for financial help.
“When I lost my welding job, I called John and told him to help me get another one. He invited me to come to Warri where he was domiciled. He asked whether I could drive and I replied in the affirmative. He said he wanted to give me car to deliver somewhere.
“The first time, John didn’t let me know it was a stolen vehicle. It was the second time that he opened up to me that he was using master key to open parked cars at night and steal them. I had no choice but to follow him because I had no job again then and I believed something good would come out of the operations.
“After about two months, I was provoked by the way John was spending the money he was making from sale of the stolen vehicles. I was thinking one would not be able to have anything in life if John continued to spend lavishly in clubs after sale of the vehicles. Before then, he had taught me how to use the master key. He had also introduced me to buyers of the stolen vehicles. So, I left him and started the robbery operation on my own.
“An Ijaw friend, Ebimoh, joined me. He was staying in Bayelsa State, but I knew him in Sapele. In November 2023, we started stealing parked cars in Sapele and Warri, like we did when I was with John. After some time, Ebimoh asked me whether the buyers would be interested in exotic vehicles. He pointed out that a master key could not be for such vehicles, and I told him that it meant we would need guns to snatch them from their owners. I agreed with his idea.
