By: Felix Ikpotor
The Rivers State Police Command has killed a notorious armed robber and cult leader, Silas Oderereke aka General in Oderereke Community in Ahoada-West local government area of the state
The said cultist who had been on the run for the past four years was killed in a gun battle with the police.
According to a statement by the spokesperson of the command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the deceased was the head of the Greenlanders’ cult group in the Ubie clan of Ahoada West.
She said the slain cultists and his gang were notorious for their criminal activities such as armed robbery, land grabbing, unauthorized sales of buildings, and brutal attacks on those who dared to oppose them.
The statement said that on January 11, 2024, the officers of the command received information about Oderereke’s gang’s robbery operation, which also involved vandalizing the property of the late Eze Ekpeye Logbo, Eze Robinson O. Robinson. Responding, the police chased the criminals out of town, however, the defiant ‘General’ rallied his gang and launched an attack on a community-owned tank farm in Oderereke, intending to loot its contents, stressing that it was during the sabotage attempt that the police managed to apprehend the gang.
The statement noted further that on the shootout, Oderereke and his accomplice were neutralized while others sustained injuries, as two other clan leaders, Danger-boy and 2-Man, who frequently collaborated with Oderereke, managed to escape and are currently at large.
Upon searching the gang’s hideout, the police discovered a G3 Rifle and nineteen 7.62x51mm ammunition.
Further investigations uncovered a camp Oderereke had established between Oderereke and Olokuma Communities.
The statement said the Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, congratulated the officers for their exceptional work.
He issued a stern warning to cultists in the state to abandon their criminal activities and renounce cultism, or face the full weight of the law while assuring residents of the state of peace and security.
