The Rivers Police Command has confirmed that two armed robbers were killed when a gang raided the office of the state News Papers Corporation early on Monday.
The corporation is the publisher of the Nigerian Tide Newspapers.
The Command’s spokesman, DSP Muhammad Ahmad, in Port Harcourt said that it, however, lost an officer in the robbery bid.
He said the officer was killed when a police patrol team confronted the robbers.
“Our anti-robbery unit and other detectives are on the trail of other fleeing members of the gang that raided the Tide newspaper office early July 14,’’ he said.
Mr Celestine Ogolo, General Manager of The Rivers Newspaper Corporation, also in Port Harcourt said that the robbers invaded the office in the early hours of Monday.
He said he could not fathom why armed robbers attacked the newspaper house.
Ogolo said that it remained a mystery to him what armed robbers would be looking for in a newspaper house.
“I don’t know what to say; am surprise and it is still a mystery to me what armed robbers will be looking for in a newspaper house; it is still a mystery to me.
“So, I really don’t know what to say about the incident; six of my staff were brutalised.
“Their skulls were broken, not even talking about the psychological torture which still manifest,’’ he said.
Ogolo said that the affected six workers were receiving medical attention in an undisclosed clinic in Port Harcourt.
According to him, a lot of those on night shift may not have recovered enough to do any meaningful work.
He described the incident and the killing of a policeman in the shootout as sad.
“We called them (police) for our rescue and he (deceased officer) came here to rescue, only to lose his life,’’ the general manager said. (NAN)
