the police in Enugu Statesoutheast Nigeria, have paraded two people for allegedly kidnapping travelers along Ugwogo Nike-Opi-Nsukka Road in the state.
They paraded at the Enugu Police Headquarters on Tuesday, along with 13 others who were arrested for allegedly committing various crimes.
Enugu state police spokesman Daniel Ndukwe, who addressed reporters during the parade on behalf of State Police Commissioner Ahmed Ammani, said a female victim escaped from the suspected kidnappers.
Ndukwe, deputy superintendent of police, gave the names of the suspected kidnappers arrested as Sani Usman, 25, and Landi Usman, 30.
The suspects hail from Sokoto state in northwestern Nigeria.
kidnapped rescue
The police spokesman said the 15 suspects, all men, were arrested, in separate operations, for various crimes including murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, illegal possession of firearms and fraud.
“These arrests led to the rescue of seven kidnap victims and the recovery of seven firearms, two motorcycles, a dagger, a cash sum of N701,000, and other incriminating evidence, in separate operations carried out by commando police operatives, with the support of from other security forces and law-abiding citizens,” he said.
Mr Ndukwe said that in a separate operation on Sunday, police officers serving at the Igbo-Eze North Police Division Headquarters in collaboration with the Forest Guard and Neighborhood Watch Group around the 1 pm they rescued four other kidnapping victims, two men and two women, who come from Kogi. State.
The police spokesman said the victims were rescued from the kidnappers in a forest after a shootout with officers in Aisha-Ette, a community in the Igbo-Eze northern council area of the state.
“The hijackers, most of whom escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds, abandoned the victims due to the superior firepower of the operatives,” he said.
He said the victims, who were kidnapped on June 23 at around 9pm, were asked to pay 10 million naira as a ransom before being rescued.
Ndukwe said that in a separate operation, police serving at the Adani Police Division Headquarters in a joint operation with Nigerian army troops, Forest Guards and the Neighborhood Watch Group rescued an unidentified woman on Sunday. and his son.
The two victims were earlier abducted from Ngene-Ukwu along Adani-Opanda Road in the state’s Uzo Uwani local government area, according to police.
“The joint team is still on the trail of the suspected kidnappers,” he said.
more arrests
Ndukwe said police on June 18 arrested a four-member criminal gang that was allegedly engaged in armed robbery, kidnapping, rape and fraud.
He gave their names as Uche Ede, 21; Pascual Chukwu, 25; Joshua Okonkwo, 22, all from the Nkanu East council area, and Moses Nnaji, 20, from the Nkanu West council area.
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“His arrest is the result of the operatives’ tactical response to a series of allegations, alleging that the suspects used commercial minibuses to abduct their unsuspecting victims within the Enugu metropolis, particularly young women, to remote locations, where they robbed , violated and transferred sums of money. of money from their bank accounts at gunpoint,” she said.
‘Physically disabled trapped with rifles’
In another development, police officers, during a stop and search operation along Ugwuomu-Nike in Enugu East Council Area on June 20, intercepted a motorcyclist carrying a physically disabled person.
“Following the search conducted on the cyclist and the male passenger, two locally made weapons and workshop tools were recovered from the passenger, Edeh Longinus, 47, who has a physical disability and from Ohuani-Owo in the east council area. of Nkanu,” he said.
“Preliminary investigation shows that he is an arms manufacturer and broker, with a workshop in Amanvu in the Nkalagu community of Ebonyi state,” Ndukwe added.
Man arrested for false transfer of N3.5 million
The police spokesman said that in a similar operation, police detectives working at the Trans-Ekulu Police Division Headquarters arrested Mmesoma Linus, 26, on June 23 for allegedly issuing a Fake credit alert of N3.5 million to an unsuspecting timber trader in the Nsukka timber market. on November 28, 2021.
“The suspect confessed to the crime, while a video clip intercepted in the course of the ongoing investigation shows him spraying cash at a nightclub, which is reasonably suspected to be the proceeds of his criminal activities,” it stated.
“The suspect will be prosecuted and prosecuted accordingly, once the investigation of the case is concluded.”
Mr. Ndukwe assured the residents of the state that the police were committed to protecting their lives and property and ensuring peace and order in the state.