The Rivers State Police Command says it shot dead a notorious armed robber and cult leader, Silas Oderereke, in Oderereke, Ahoada-West Local Government Area. Oderereke, also known as ‘General’ Odereke.
The Police Public Relations Officer,SP Grace Iringe Koko in a a statement on January 14,2024 said the cult leader had been on the run for the past four years, evading arrest
SP Koko disclosed that , his reign of terror came to an end when he resisted arrest and opened fire on the police, resulting in his death.
The Police Image Manager stated that the head of the Greenlanders’ cult group in the Ubie clan of Ahoada West, Oderereke and his gang were known for their criminal activities, which included armed robbery, land grabbing, unauthorized sales of buildings, and brutal attacks on those who dared to oppose them.
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Narrating the encounter of the Police with the cult leader,SP Koko explained that on January 11, 2024, the police received information about Oderereke’s gang’s robbery operation, which also involved vandalizing the property of the late monarch, Eze Robinson O. Robinson.
She said in a swift response, the police chased the criminals out of town but the defiant ‘General’ rallied his gang and launched an attack on a community-owned tank farm in Oderereke, intending to loot its contents and during the sabotage attempt that the police managed to apprehend the gang.
SP Koko revealed that Silas Oderereke and one other member of his gang opened fire on the police team, leading to an exchange of gunfire. In the shootout, Oderereke and his accomplice were neutralized while others sustained injuries.
The Police Public Relations Officer said two other cult leaders, Danger-boy and 2-Man, who frequently collaborated with Oderereke, managed to escape and are currently at large.
The spokesperson of the command said upon search of the gang’s hideout, the police discovered a G3 Rifle and nineteen 7.62x51mm ammunition while further investigations uncovered a camp Oderereke had established between Oderereke and Olokuma Communities.
SP Koko revealed that the camp served as a base for the cult leader and his numerous followers, from where they launched robbery attacks on innocent members of neighboring communities.
” The affected communities expressed their relief and shared accounts of residents who had relocated to Port Harcourt due to the mayhem caused by the cult group” she said.
Meanwhile the Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, congratulated the officers for their exceptional work.
CP Disu had in the meantime issued a stern warning to cultists in the state, urging them to abandon their criminal activities and renounce cultism, or face the full weight of the law and assured the residents of Rivers State that the Police Command, under his leadership, remains fully committed to maintaining peace and bolstering security in the state .