Rivers Police Dismantles Kidnap Ring, Arrest Five Suspects

The Rivers State Police Command has dismantled a suspected kidnapping syndicate operating in parts of the state, arresting five suspects during a coordinated operation in Oyigbo Local Government Area.

According to the command, some suspected members of the kidnap syndicate were nabbed by operatives attached to the Oyigbo Divisional Police Station following intelligence-led operations aimed at curbing violent crimes across the state.

The spokesperson of the state police command, Blessing Agabe, who disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Port Harcourt, noted that the suspects were arrested following the directive issued by the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adewole Adepoju, that operatives must sustain aggressive operations against criminal elements.

The arrested suspects include: Ezekiel Emmanuel, 44, from Benue State; Chukwuma Mbanefor, 51, from Anambra State; Nicholas Diala, 65, from Imo State; Ndubuisi Uwakwe, 49, from Abia State; and Ifeanyi Nwakwo, 51, from Imo State.

Agabe noted that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects has confessed to their involvement in kidnapping activities and admitted participating in several abductions in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities within Oyigbo Local Government Area.

“The Rivers State Police Command has recorded another significant operational success with the arrest of five members of a suspected kidnapping syndicate during a coordinated operation in Oyigbo Local Government Area,” the statement said.

The command added that efforts were ongoing to track down and arrest other members of the criminal network still at large.

The Police Commissioner, Adepoju, who also commented on the arrest, attributed the success to the operational directives and intelligence-driven policing strategy of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu.

He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to sustaining intelligence-led operations against kidnapping, cultism, armed robbery and other violent crimes across Rivers State.

The police commissioner warned that there would be no hiding place for kidnappers and other criminal elements, stressing that the command would continue to pursue and bring offenders to justice.

He appealed to Rivers residents to remain vigilant and support security agencies with credible and timely information to aid crime prevention and the arrest of criminal elements.