We trailed our victims for 1 month before killing them –Murder suspect

An ex-Niger Delta militant, Sunny Andie, 27, has confessed to the police in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State, that he participated in the murder of two men in Azikoro community on July 16.

CRIME DIGEST gathered that the victims, Orlando and British Egena, were killed on suspicion that they were providing intelligence to security agencies on the activities of cultists in the state.

The victims, who drove a Toyota Sports Utility Vehicle with registration number, GBJ 154 AA, were shot several times at close range by the bandits, who wore bulletproof vests.

But Andie said that it took the assassins over one month to plan the operation and track their victims.

He said he was invited and paid about N60,000 by the hatchers of the plot who he identified as Gbafare Gold and Ayi Benjamin to monitor the movement of the victims.

Andie said all the meetings to perfect the operation were held at Mbiama, a border community on the East-West Road between Bayelsa and Rivers states.

He described the assassins as members of secret cults.

“I knew Benjamin through John Togo and through Benjamin I knew Gbafare. There was a day when I was in Warri, Gbafare called me and asked me to come down to Mbiama. The next day I rushed to Mbiama and saw Gbafare, Obaino, Tunde and other guys. They gave me a brief and told me that there were two betrayers in Bayelsa State Government House, British and Orlando.

“They said Owodo and Egena were working with the government and that they were betrayers of Niger Delta militants. They asked me to monitor their victims at Ogolobiri because British and Orland always go for parties. They said I should monitor two of them and call them when I saw them. They gave me N60, 000 and I left,” he said.

He said the first planned operation to kill Owodo and Egena would have taken place at a burial in Okoloba in Delta State, but the operation was aborted because Gbafare hailed from the community.

“But when Gbafare arrived in the community he was not happy. I wanted to know why he was not happy and told him that if he carried out the operation innocent people would die because that was his community. I advised him not to carry out the operation and he said that was why he was not happy. He went and met Obaino and convinced them to carry out the operation in Bayelsa State”, he said.

Before the Bayelsa operation, he said the assassins through information he provided for them made some failed attempts to kill their victims in Warri.

He said they had informants in Warri and Government House in Bayelsa State, adding that he was asked to go back to Yenagoa to monitor the victims.

“On the day they were killed, Gbafare called me and asked me to go to Azikoro Road. They said the victims were driving to the area. He later called me to know whether I have seen Orlando and British. Shortly after that a vehicle occupied by Orlando and British passed. In a twinkle, Gbafare and his group passed and in a short while I heard sounds of gunshots that lasted for 10 minutes. After some time, I saw their car leaving the area,” he said.

Immediately after the incident, Andie said he escaped to his village but was arrested following a tip-off by the police.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Kingsley Omire, told CRIME DIGEST that Gbafare and Obaino who hatched the plot, had been killed.

He said they were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department of the police and died in the course of investigation into the matter.

“They said they were going to show the police where they kept their arms, but we didn’t know that it was a plot because gunmen men had laid in ambush for the police,” he said adding that Obaino and Gbafare were killed in the gun duel.

“They were chained to the back of the vehicle so there was no way they would have been able to jump out, while only two of the detectives were in that vehicle. Two of the suspects who were at the back were hit.

“They were taken to FMC where they eventually died. It was a close shave for the policemen. What saved the policemen was that apart from the white vehicle, they did not use any other traditional patrol vehicle,” he said.

Omire, who paraded 24 suspected criminals on Wednesday, appealed to members of the public to assist the police in checking crime in the state.