BY RITA OYIBOKA
The Delta State Police Command has announced the arrest of a notorious armed robber popularly known as Big Man, who has long been on the command’s wanted list for a series of robberies across the state.
The arrest was made public in a video posted on the official X account of the Command’s spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, who explained the command’s renewed approach to intelligence-driven policing under the current leadership.
“You may wonder why we are always giving updates, updates, updates. Yes, that is because when the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, Olufemi Abaniwonda, assumed duty on the 1st of February 2024, he promised Deltans that he was going to ensure they sleep with their two eyes closed.
“For you to sleep with your two eyes closed, it means our (the police) own eyes must always remain open, open to look out for suspected criminals who want to disturb our peace,” he said.
According to the police spokesperson, about seven days earlier, a gang of five armed men invaded the home of one Mr Owe Glory, dispossessing him and his family of valuable items, including an iPhone 16 Pro Max, a Samsung Galaxy X9 Plus, a PlayStation 4, a television set, and his wife’s personal belongings. Recounting his ordeal in the video, Mr Glory said: “We were at home at about 1 a.m. when five men burst into our house with guns. They told us to lie down, tied us up, collected our phones, pulled our TV from the wall, and even took our neighbour’s TV.
They warned us that if we screamed, they would shoot us. They showed us bullets and the guns they were carrying.” He explained that he had reported the matter to the Agbara Police Station before following up at the command headquarters with receipts of the stolen items, which enabled investigators to track them. When asked how he felt after the recovery of his belongings and the arrest of suspects within a week, Mr Glory replied: “I feel better, sir. The police are doing a great job lately.”
SP Edafe confirmed that the prime suspect, Big Man, has been linked to multiple crimes, including the robbery of 180 bags of rice from a warehouse in Warri last year, as well as the snatching of vehicles.
Confronted in the video, one of the suspects admitted that the crime had brought him nothing but misery. “It is bad business. Presently, I don’t even have ₦1,000 in my account. For several days, I’ve not even come out of where I am. I don’t have even one letter. It’s bad business. Everybody doing it should come out of it. It’s not good business.”
SP Edafe stressed the key lesson from the arrest: “The lesson to take home is that there is no gain in crime. Not because he is presently with us, but the truth is that there is absolutely no gain.” The Delta State Police Command has assured residents that it will continue to strengthen intelligence-led policing to rid the state of criminals and protect lives and property.
