2 arrested, one killed over murder of British optician in Delta

Two suspected militants, who allegedly took part in the kidnapping and killing of a British optician,  Dr Ian Squire, in Burutu area of Delta State, have been arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, while another member of the gang was killed during an exchange of gunfire.


It was gathered that two IRT operatives, Sergeant Sanusi Lanre and Sergeant Agunbiade Adebayo, also sustained serious bullet wounds on their stomachs and hands, during the shootout which occurred in an apartment at Sapele area of the state.

Sources disclosed that, the IRT   led by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari,   was deployed  to Delta State by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, after receiving reports of the abduction of the optician and three of his colleagues on  October 13, 2017, by a militant group known as Karowei, in Burutu, Delta State.

His colleagues, David Donovan, his wife, Shirley and Alanna Carson, were freed on November 6, 2017, after an undisclosed amount was paid to the militants as ransom, having spent 24 days in captivity.

It was gathered that the two members of the group, were trailed by the IRT operatives to Warri area of the Delta State, where they were eventually arrested.

The areested suspects were said to have confessed during questioning that they were members of the group who carried out the kidnapping and they also volunteered to lead the operatives to Sapele, where other  members of the group were hiding.

It was gathered that the IRT operatives were first sighted by the militants when they arrived their hideout in Sapele Town.

A member of the gang allegedly armed with a beretta pistol, was said to have opened fire on the IRT personnel, leaving some of them with severe injuries.

The operatives were said to have returned fire immediately killing the suspect on the spot, while his baretta pistol was recovered.

The injured operatives were rushed to a public hospital in the state (name withheld) where Sgt Lanre, who sustained a bullet wound in his stomach was undergoing emergency surgery at the time of filing this report.