The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Bitrus Mamman Giwa has restated that the Command was ready and committed to rid the state of criminal elements threatening the lives and properties of the citizens.

The CP made the vow on Friday while parading fourteen suspected kidnappers before newsmen at the Police Headquarters.

Appraising the Command’s exploits at arresting kidnappers and other criminal elements and rescuing kidnap victims, Giwa said that they were not resting on their oars but were on the lookout to apprehend fleeing criminals with a view to bringing them to book.

He noted that there were syndicates operating within and outside the state, pointing out that they were carrying out investigations to arrest others as well.

He said, “The Command is conducting further investigations to establish the suspects’ involvement in other kidnapping and violent-crime incidents within and outside Enugu State, identify and arrest other members of the syndicate, and recover additional firearms, ammunition and other criminal proceeds. 

“Upon conclusion of investigation, the suspects will be charged to court in accordance with extant laws.The arrests and recoveries are a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of sustained intelligence gathering, ICT-enabled investigation, inter-agency collaboration, inter-state cooperation and coordinated operational policing adopted by the Command.

“I wish to assure the government and people of Enugu state that the Command remains resolute in its offensive against kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, rape, cultism and other violent crimes across the state. 

“Our intelligence assets and operational teams remain fully engaged in identifying criminal networks, dismantling their structures and bringing their members to justice.

“We will continue to make Enugu state increasingly unconducive to unrepentant local criminals, criminal elements seeking to infiltrate the State, and their activities,” he said.

The Commissioner however attributed their operational success to the Inspector General of Police and the Enugu state government for their assistance in helping the Command function effectively.

“I most sincerely appreciate the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, for his strategic leadership, guidance and sustained operational support, which have continued to enhance effective and result-oriented policing in Enugu state.

“I would also like to express my profound gratitude to the Executive Governor of Enugu state, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for his unwavering support and commitment to making the State safe, secure and conducive for residents, visitors and legitimate economic activities. His forward-looking leadership and support for training and security operations have significantly strengthened our collective efforts to combat crime in the state.

“I equally commend other security agencies for their collaborative support, while also thanking members of the public for their continued cooperation and timely provision of useful information to the Police. Community support remains indispensable to effective intelligence-led policing,” he said.

Among the suspected kidnappers paraded include those that recently kidnapped people from their church in Affa, Udi local government area where a Seminarian and some others were abducted but were rescued after paying ransoms that were eventually recovered.