The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Po­lice, Don Awunah, has warned criminals with­in and around the state to change from their criminal enterprise or risk being ar­rested and jailed, stressing that there is no hiding place for criminals in the state.
This is even as the Akwa Ibom State Police command has cracked down some no­torious cult groups who have been terrorising residents of the area in recent times.
Awunah made this known in a statement, a copy which was made available to The AUTHORITY, in Abuja.
“We want to reiterate that criminal elements have no hiding place in Akwa Ibom State and I call on them to change from their criminal enterprise or they will surely be routed from their hid­ing places and made to face the full wrath of the law,” he stressed.
Explaining how the no­torious cult groups were nabbed, Awunah said: “Eight members of two notorious cult groups in Ukanafun, Ika and Etim Ekpo Local Gov­ernment Areas, Dee Bam and Dee Well, were smashed and arrested by men of ‘Op­eration Impact’ some times in February.
“Prior to their arrest, armed with AK-47 Rifles, the rampaging cult members had sneaked into Ukanafun and Etim Ekpo Local Gov­ernment Areas killing 6 men including 4 in Ukanafun and 2 in Etim Ekpo.
“One of the 6 suspects, Monday Mark Uko alias Young Chief of Ukanafun is said to be the sponsor of a notorious gang of assassins in Ukanafun that had terror­ized the area for a very long time, killing and maiming people mindlessly.”
Awunah lamented that: “He sacked and imposed vil­lage heads and chiefs at will, killing anyone who dared to challenge him. He was so dreaded that some members of the community had to re­locate to nearby villages to avoid his onslaught.
“Meanwhile, operatives are closing in on the leader of the Dee Well group pop­ularly known as Isokpufi, another daredevil who has also been a nightmare to the people in the community.”
Exhibits recovered from the suspects, the CP said, include 2 locally made shot guns and 4 live cartridges.
In a related development, the Akwa Ibom State police command has arrested two female armed robbery sus­pects. They include Sandra Nnamso Eno and Mmeyene Ernest Bassey.
The two suspects, accord­ing to Awunah, specialized in robbing people of their phones, money, jewelry and other valuables, using mo­torcycles (okada) and armed with daggers, knives and other harmful objects.
According to him, the two female armed robbers were apprehended by a team of Operation Impact shortly after robbing one Chukwue­meka Ikeh in Ikot Ekpene.
The suspects dispossessed their victim of the sum of N400,000.00 and 4 tele­phone handsets.
While saying that one dag­ger and two mobile phones were recovered from them as exhibits, the CP revealed that they were arrested through one of their phones that dropped unnoticed while hurrying out of the scene after the robbery.
Awunah further noted that despite the successes so far recorded, the com­mand remained focused in its determination to weaken the capacity of criminals to disrupt the quality of life en­joyed by Akwa Ibom State citizens and her visitors-The Authority