The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has issued a stern warning to the Oduma community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, demanding the return of a stolen pistol within seven days.
The weapon was taken during a confrontation between NDLEA operatives and community youths on Wednesday.
This development was disclosed in a statement by the agency’s Public Relations Officer, Daniel Obah. The altercation left four NDLEA officers injured as they attempted to arrest drug peddlers in the area.
The youths, believed to be accomplices of the drug peddlers, also vandalised the NDLEA’s operational vehicle during the incident.
Obah clarified that the officers were on routine operations when they were attacked.
“The youths of the community tried to resist the arrest, which led to the clash and vandalism of the operational vehicle,” he stated.
He added that “the injured personnel were still in the hospital receiving treatment, while three other operatives with minor injuries had been discharged.”
In response to the situation, the community’s youth president, Joshua Inebika-emi, claimed that the youths only sought an explanation for the arrests, expressing concerns that the accused were detained without the involvement of community leaders.
He emphasised the community’s stance against drug dealing, describing it as “unprofessional and barbaric,” and called on the NDLEA state commander and the Bayelsa State Government to intervene, stating that “Oduma represents peace.”
However, the NDLEA dismissed these claims as false and malicious.
The agency’s statement revealed that the officers were attacked after successfully apprehending a suspected drug dealer and his assistant.
“What the Youth President failed to disclose is that, on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, suspected drug dealers and criminals taking refuge in his community attacked NDLEA officers after the officers had successfully arrested a suspected drug dealer and his sales assistant, and were attempting to leave,” the statement read.
The youth then overpowered the officers, seized a pistol, freed the suspects, and vandalized the state-provided vehicle.
“The irate indigenes of the Oduma community blocked the bridge, overpowered the officers, seized a pistol, freed the two suspects, took the recovered exhibits, and vandalised the operational vehicle,” it added.
The statement also mentioned that the officers were “shot and stabbed” before the NDLEA backup team arrived, preventing further violence.
The NDLEA has called on the community’s leadership to return the stolen pistol, produce the suspects, and return the recovered exhibits within seven days or face legal consequences.
“The State Commander of the NDLEA, Bayelsa State, Kanu Chukwuemeka, is using this opportunity to call on the paramount ruler and the entire leadership of the community to produce, within seven days, the pistol taken from the officers, the two male suspects arrested, and the recovered exhibits, or be prepared to face legal action,” the statement warned.
The agency also noted that the arrested suspects, Daniel Sokoh and Samson Sokoh, are receiving treatment in the same hospital as the injured officers.
In its closing remarks, the NDLEA urged all well-meaning individuals in society to support efforts to combat drug abuse and addiction.
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