Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force’s Special Tactical Squad–Force Intelligence Department (STS-FID) have killed a notorious bandit kingpin known as “Acid” during a gun battle in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, police announced Saturday.
The suspect, identified as Ojiogu Elumah Martin, was killed in the early hours of August 6 when STS-FID operatives raided his hideout at about 1:30 a.m. Police say Martin opened fire as soon as he spotted the operatives, triggering a gun battle that lasted several hours before he was neutralised. Other gang members fled into nearby forest during the raid.
The operation, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Victor Ogbeide Godfrey on the orders of Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu, formed part of a broader manhunt for those responsible for the killing of a traditional ruler, HRH Eze Barrister Paulinus Ekwueme, along with his security detail and other victims.
Police said they recovered an AK-47 rifle, three magazines and 56 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition from the scene.
According to police, preliminary investigations tie “Acid” to a criminal network blamed for a string of killings and violent crimes across Ohaji/Egbema and surrounding communities between 2024 and 2026. Before Saturday’s raid, STS-FID had already arrested four suspected members of the gang and killed two others.
One of those arrested, Chinwendo Mirabe, known as “K2,” reportedly led police to information that Martin had killed a man named Emeka Ebere Nwaele on May 12, suspecting him of tipping off police to the earlier arrest.
Police say the gang is also linked to the deaths of several other individuals dating back to October 2024, including Chikaire Domandu (“Asari”), Chimezie Uchenna, Ezeugo Umah, Ibo Sunday, and Nwaugo Ngozi (“Igbo”), among others.
Investigators are additionally probing the gang’s alleged role in torching the business premises of a Mr ThankGod Terry on July 10, and in the killing of the Ochia monarch, Eze Ekwueme, on April 10, an attack that also claimed five other lives, including two traditional chiefs, along the Asa/Awara Road. Police say the monarch had recently returned from about five years living in the United States and was ambushed after attending a meeting in Ochia.
Police say “Acid” has now been identified as the suspected ringleader behind the monarch’s killing and several of the other attacks under investigation.
The Nigeria Police Force said it would continue pursuing gang members still at large and urged the public to come forward with information that could aid further arrests.
“Investigation is ongoing,” said CSP Ani Iniedu, Force Public Relations Officer, in a statement issued from Force Headquarters, Abuja, on August 8.
