No fewer than twenty suspected Hausa/Fulani youths have been arrested following a deadly midnight ambush on community vigilantes in Orhuwhorun, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State.
The Executive Chairman of Udu Local Government, Olorogun (Hon.) Vincent Ogheneruemu Oyibode on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, stormed the community hours after the violent attack, vowing to flush out criminal elements hiding in abandoned buildings across the council.
The assailants, who allegedly operated from the abandoned residence of late Chief Austine Ogbaburhon, heavily resisted the vigilante operatives who visited the premises Monday night to enforce an earlier police vacation order issued last Friday, leading to some of the vigilante members sustaining life-threatening injuries.
Speaking during an on-the-spot assessment, Oyibode disclosed that he returned from Asaba in the early hours of Tuesday and headed straight to Orhuwhorun after receiving distress calls throughout the night.
“I got intelligence reports about suspicious movements in that building. The community president deployed vigilantes to verify compliance with police directives, only for them to be ambushed,” the chairman stated.
A combined team of community members and the Udu Security Network later launched a counter-operation, leading to the arrest of 20 suspects and recovery of motorcycles and operational tools.
Several others escaped towards the DSC Expressway.
Describing the building as “a notorious criminal den,” Oyibode warned that Udu remains open to peaceful non-indigenes but will deal ruthlessly with anyone threatening the peace.
He announced that all Hausa residents will be invited for a security engagement this week, while compulsory registration of commercial motorcyclists and tricyclists, complete with numbered aprons and ID cards backed by guarantors, will commence immediately.
The council boss directed community presidents to identify every occupant in their domains and report suspicious movements.
The injured vigilantes have been transferred to Federal Medical Centre, Otor-Udu, while the 20 suspects are now in custody at Ovwian/Aladja Police Station for interrogation and prosecution.
Read also: Police Command Brokers Peace Over Boundary, Fishing Disputes in Delta Riverine Communities
