Banner Online News

By Chukwudi Abiandu , Asaba

It began like an ordinary morning at a filling station along the busy Warri–Patani Road. Cars lined up for fuel. Hawkers called out prices. But somewhere amid the bustle, a quiet operation was unfolding, one that would expose a deadly chain of arms trafficking, ransom killings, and organized crime.

The Delta State Police Command’s Special Assignment Team, acting on a tip from the Force Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU) in Abuja, had been tracking their suspect for weeks. Their target that day was Jamila Abubakar, a seemingly ordinary young woman with an extraordinary secret.

Police Public Relations Office (PPRO) of Delta Command, Superintendent of Police, Bright Edafe who made this known in a statement said When officers closed in on her at the Conoil Filling Station, Effurun, they found not weapons, but ₦550,000 in cash, neatly wrapped and hidden beneath her bag. The money, investigators soon learned, was the silent currency of the underground arms trade.

That arrest opened the floodgates. Acting swiftly, the CP-Special Assignment Team, led by ASP Julius Robinson, traced the trail to Niger-Cat area of Warri. What followed, at exactly 7:25 a.m. on October 22, 2025, was the arrest that would shake Delta’s criminal underworld: Ahmed Ibrahim, 31, a notorious arms peddler from Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area.

When police opened his bag, they found enough ammunition to start a small war — 115 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 220 rounds of SMG ammunition, and 32 live cartridges.

But the bullets told only part of the story. Investigators say Ibrahim is a major supplier of weapons to bandit groups in northern Nigeria, his operations stretching across state lines, linking local gangs to national networks of kidnapping and terror.

Police sources revealed that Ibrahim has long been on their radar for his alleged role in multiple high-profile kidnappings, including the brutal abduction and murder of Mrs. Ogheneovo Onemu, who was kidnapped in May 2024 in Ughelli North and killed despite a ₦4 million ransom payment.

For CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, the Commissioner of Police in Delta, the arrests mark a turning point in the state’s war against organized crime.

“This success is another testament to our commitment to dismantle criminal networks and stem the flow of illegal arms,” Abaniwonda said in Asaba. “The Command will not relent until every such syndicate is neutralized and peace is restored to our communities,” he assured.

The breakthrough has sent ripples through Delta’s criminal ecosystem — from couriers and cash handlers to gunrunners and kidnap cells.

For residents, it’s a relief,  a sign that the police are beginning to penetrate the dark market that fuels violence from Warri to Ughelli, Sapele to Burutu. But for investigators, it’s also a warning: the fight is far from over.

The Command urged citizens to remain vigilant and to report suspicious movements through its control room numbers: 08036684974, 08114895600, and 08025666914.

As the dust settles over Warri, one thing is clear: Delta’s underworld just lost a major supplier, and the walls are closing in on those who trade in blood and bullets.