Following the attack on Shoprite shopping mall in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State by unknown community youths, one of the suspects arrested and paraded by the police, has disclosed that they were hired by a community leader in the area to attack the mall.
Narrating how he was contacted, the suspect, Godspower, who identified himself as a professional sprayer, said he had a misunderstanding with his boss a few week ago.
Godspower said he went to Uvwie motor park area to see a friend when a community leader (names withheld) called them and asked them to attack the shopping mall, but warned them against taking anything away from the complex.
He pointed out that the community leader also charged them to chase customers inside the business complex away.
“So I, in company with many other youths, stormed the shopping mall and did as we were directed, but the mistake we made was to collect some of the hand phones. And as I was trying to escape, the police came in and one of them saw the phones with me and pursued me and arrested me.
“I don’t know why they said we should attack the mall. But I don’t know what came over me on that day, I can say that the devil was at work. I am begging; I know the community leader who sent us and some of the youths who went for the attack.”
Addressing newsmen, the Delta State Police Commissioner, Mr. Alkali Baba Usman, said over 10 handsets, allegedly stolen from the shopping mall, were recovered from the suspect, who also allegedly mentioned the principal actors.
He said 18 suspects were also nabbed while causing the breach of the peace after the attack, adding that the command has declared Mr. Henry Baro, the suspended chairman of Uvwie Local Government Area and one Napoleon Odibu, chairman of Uvwie Central Motor Park wanted after preliminary investigations showed that they allegedly hired the youths to attack the shopping mall.
Meanwhile, the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Emmanuel Ekemejewan Siseso Abel, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the vandals of the mall to return their loots to the management of the shopping complex.
The traditional ruler, who publicly invoked the curses of the gods of Uvwie on those who might pay deaf ears to his warning, also issued a similar warning to buyers of the loot to return whatever they bought from the vandals within the specified period of time or face the wrath of the gods of Uvwie Kingdom.
The aggrieved traditional ruler, who sympathised with the state government, management of Delta Mall and victims of the incident, assured that his palace would do everything possible to ensure that such an ugly incident did not occur again.
The traditional ruler also observed some security lapses in the mall, advising its management to do something about it in order to forestall a future occurrence of the ugly incident.
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