Police foils robbery attack on newspaper house, loses officer

Port Harcourt – The Rivers Police Command has
confirmed that two armed robbers were killed when a
gang raided the office of the state News Papers
Corporation early on Monday.
The corporation is the publisher of the Nigerian Tide
Newspapers.
The Command’s spokesman, DSP Muhammad
Ahmad, in Port Harcourt said that it, however, lost an
officer in the robbery bid.
He said the officer was killed when a police patrol
team confronted the robbers.
“Our anti-robbery unit and other detectives are on
the trail of other fleeing members of the gang that
raided the Tide newspaper office early July 14,’’ he
said.
Mr Celestine Ogolo, General Manager of The Rivers
Newspaper Corporation, also in Port Harcourt said
that the robbers invaded the office in the early hours
of Monday.
He said he could not fathom why armed robbers
attacked the newspaper house.
Ogolo said that it remained a mystery to him what
armed robbers would be looking for in a newspaper
house.
“I don’t know what to say; am surprise and it is still a
mystery to me what armed robbers will be looking for
in a newspaper house; it is still a mystery to me.
“So, I really don’t know what to say about the
incident; six of my staff were brutalised.
“Their skulls were broken, not even talking about the
psychological torture which still manifest,’’ he said.
Ogolo said that the affected six workers were
receiving medical attention in an undisclosed clinic in
Port Harcourt.
According to him, a lot of those on night shift may
not have recovered enough to do any meaningful
work.
He described the incident and the killing of a
policeman in the shootout as sad.
“We called them (police) for our rescue and he
(deceased officer) came here to rescue, only to lose
his life,’’ the general manager said. (NAN)