Service rifle, ammunition disappear while Policeman was watching Super Eagles’ match

Gasper Babatunde Reporting 

A police inspector attached to the palace of the Olu of Warri, Delta State, has lost his AK-47 rifle with serial number 0927 alongside 60 rounds of ammunition on Sunday inside the palace.

The mobile police officer, identified as Yusuf Samaila, was watching the match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) when they disappeared.

According to LEADERSHIP, the police inspector from the PMF 51, Oghara, headquarters of the Ethiope West local government area of Delta State, reportedly lost the firearm when his room was burgled, and his rifle was taken away by an unknown person.

Confirming the incident, a source in Warri, privy to the matter, said that the mobile police officer had locked his rifle with 60 rounds of ammunition inside his room in the palace and gone to watch the match, but when he returned to his room, the firearm was missing.

“It was during halftime when he came back to his room, he discovered that the room had been burgled and both the rifle and ammunition taken away.”

“Based on this, his unit commander attached to the Olu of Warri Palace went to the Warri area command to report the case of the missing firearm within the palace premises.

The police officer is being interrogated with the intention to recover and arrest anyone behind the stolen rifle and ammunition, while the palace chiefs are also said to be on top of the matter traditionally.”

When contacted, Delta State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Bright Edafe, confirmed the development but said the rifle had been recovered.