Delta Police Rearrest Herder Who Escaped From Prison

The Delta state Police command has apprehended a 22-year-old cattle herder identified simply as Ibrahim Umaru.

Umaru was rearrested after he led members of his gang to rob a petrol station in Asaba, the capital of Delta state.

The Delta police recovered an Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK)-47 rifle from the one-time prisoner.

Before his second time arrest, Umaru was said to have led several other operations aimed at terrorizing the peace of the Delta metropolis.

Upon confession, Umaru revealed that he had escaped from prison in 2018 and fled to Zamfara state where he joined a gang headed by Buhari Daji, who is now late. The gang specializes in cattle rustling and razing down communities. Umaru admitted to have earlier escaped prison when he was taken outside the prison premises to cut grasses without wearing his prison vest.

“I escaped on one of the days I was taken out of the prison to cut grasses outside prison premises. I wasn’t wearing my prison vest, so I seized the opportunity to escape,” Umaru said briefly.

It would be recalled that the rearrested suspect was earlier charged for illegal possession of firearm and was sentenced to serve a five-year jail term before he terminated his own jail term by escaping from the prison.

While confirming the rearrest of Umaru, a police source said; “Umaru was first arrested in 2014 when policemen on patrol accosted him after he took some cows for grazing. The policemen searched and found a gun on him.

He was taken to court, where he was charged for illegal possession of firearm. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but later escaped and fled to his home town and later joined a cattle rustling syndicate.

This gang has killed several people in Zamfara State. The gang was headed by Buhari Daji, who is now late.

Umaru took part in several robberies, cattle rustling and kidnapping activities in Zamfara State before returning to Asaba Delta State with an AK-47 rifle which he started using to terrorise residents and business owners in Asaba Delta State.”