The body of notorius Linus Lebari, the suspected kidnapping gang leader, the 35 years old aka ‘BOBBY’ also known as “DEVIL”,gunned down by Police.
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Barely a week after the killing of “Lucifer,” a notorious kidnap kingpin, officers of the Bori Police Station in Rivers State, led by the DPO, at about 8.16 pm on Sunday night, in a coordinated operation also killed one Linus Lebari, a 35 years old man, popularly known ‘BOBBY’ or “DEVIL”.
The suspected notorius Kidnapper, who is from Tekon Sogho in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State who had been on the wanted list of the Police was trailed to his gang’s hideout in a forest at Okwale, in the boundary between Rivers and Abia States.
According to DSP Nnamdi Omoni, the Rivers Police Command Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, “the hoodlums on noticing irregular movements around their camp, started shooting randomly, but in a return fire from the Police, one of them was fatally wounded, who was later identified to be Linus Lebari from Tekon Sogho, the leader of the kidnapping gang responsible for all the attacks on the Ogoni axis of the East/West Road and whose gang has killed over 30 people in the two Local Government Areas of Khana and Gokana, after collecting ransom.”
DSP Omoni also said during the operation, two police pfficers sustained gunshot wounds and are currently responding to treatment, while one locally made Pistol and some Cartridges were recovered.
He assured that efforts are on to arrest other gang members who fled with gunshot wounds.
The Police spokesman further said that Commissioner of Police, CP Mustapha Dandaura, is assuring the public that the onslaught against arms banditry in the State is raging and will not cease until all criminal elements in the State are history, while appealing for cooperation, by sharing credible information that will lead to the arrest of these criminals.
The Rivers State Police Command had last week also gunned down a notorious kidnapper, Ekweme Brown Ike, aka “Lucifer.”
The deceased, who hailed from Egamini Rundele in the same area, was shot dead by personnel of the newly-created Operation Sting after a gun duel.
He was also said to responsible for the kidnapping of passengers traveling in commercial buses