The Nigerian Army has provided details of how the alleged mastermind of the New Year day tragedy in Rivers was killed.
Prince Igwedibia, popularly known as Don Wani or Don Waney, was shot dead on Saturday evening in a joint operation by the State Security Service and the army.
In a statement yesterday, an army spokesperson, Aminu Iliyasu, said the suspect relocated to Enugu State after the New Year murder of 23 people returning from a church in Omoku, Rivers State.
Iliyasu, a colonel, said the suspect was already planning another attack on Omoku even while in Enugu.
He was shot and killed in Enugu while trying to evade arrest, the army said.
“Recall that in the early hours of Monday 20th November 2017, troops of 6 Division Nigerian Army acting on credible information from some patriotic members of the public raided the evil Don Waney enclave in Omoku, Onelga, Rivers State where shocking discoveries of assorted weapons, dynamites, bags of suspected cannabis, full military camouflage uniforms, military boots, military communication radios, 10 human skulls and human bones were discovered.
“Additionally, in continuation of the operation on Tuesday 21st November 2017, the troops also exhumed decomposing bodies of some of his victims in his shrine in the glaring eyes of the media who were invited to witness first hand, part of the statement read.
It added that not satisfied with the numerous lives of innocent citizens he took, Don Waney masterminded the despicable New Year day mayhem in Omoku in which he led his notorious gang of criminals to murder 23 peace loving citizens of Omoku while returning from Cross Over Service at about 1:30am on Monday 1st January 2018.
“Intense surveillance activities on him and his gang by the Department of State Services (DSS) Rivers State Command revealed that after committing these atrocities he relocated to a neighbourhood within Enugu Town in Enugu State where he rented an apartment and started living among unsuspecting neighbours within the community.
“From the relative safety of his newly-rented apartment, Don Waney was already perfecting plans to wrought another mayhem in Omoku in which he was to attack churches, schools, Army and Police locations and the residences of the generality of the already traumatised people of Omoku.”
It stated further that following Don Waney’s successful geo-location to his new Enugu neighbourhood hideout by the DSS Rivers State Command, a combined team of troops of 82 Division Nigerian Army Enugu and personnel of DSS Rivers State Command raided the hideout to arrest him and his other accomplices. Incidentally on sensing that the combine team were closing in on his residence, Don Waney, his Second- in- Command (Ikechukwu Adiele) and another gang member (Lucky Ode) attempted to escape through the back exit of the apartment and were shot down by the eagle eyed troops in the process.
A member of the gang was said to have died on the spot while the other two who sustained gunshot wounds eventually died during evacuation for medical attention.
The remains of Don Waney and his cohorts were brought back to Port Harcourt Rivers State by the combine team and handed over to the Rivers State Police Command for further action.
The authorities of 6 Division Nigerian Army Port Harcourt, however have extend their condolences to the families of all the victims of Don Waney and his gang and solicited for further cooperation in volunteering useful information to track down and arrest the remaining gang members.
