Saturday, August 15, 2026 - The Enugu State Police Command has arrested and paraded 14 kidnap suspects involved in various kidnap operations in and outside the state.
Briefing pressmen at the Command’s headquarters in Enugu on
Friday, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, said among
them were two remaining suspects linked to the August 2 kidnapping raid on St.
Joseph’s Catholic Church, Affa, Udi LGA of the state, who fled to Port Harcourt
following the operational pressure mounted by joint security operatives.
“Further intelligence-led operations by the Command’s
Anti-Kidnapping Violent Crime Response Unit (AK-VCRU) led to the arrest of two
additional male suspects linked to the Affa Church kidnapping. Preliminary
investigation reveals that, after fleeing Enugu, the suspects regrouped with
their cohorts in Port Harcourt and abducted another victim, who was released
after a ransom of N5m was paid,” he said.
CP Giwa noted that all the 14 suspects were arrested on
various dates in June, July and August 2026 in the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja, and Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kwara and Taraba States.
The suspects had also confessed to involvement in several
recent and past kidnapping incidents along the Enugu–Ugwuogo–Opi–Nsukka Road,
Obioma–9th Mile–Umulumgbe–Okpatu Road, Eke–Affa–Egede–Ezinze axis, and various
locations in Ezeagu LGA.
“Specifically, preliminary investigation has linked the
suspects to the following armed kidnapping incidents: the abduction of a male
victim at Mgbabuowa/Aguobuowa, Ezeagu LGA, on 25th May, 2026, during which N5m
was obtained as ransom; the abduction of two male victims and the shooting and
murder of a female victim at Obioma, Udi LGA, on 9th May, 2026, during which
the gang obtained $28,700 as ransom; the abduction of two male victims along
the Eke–Ezinze Road, Udi LGA, on 10th April, 2026, for which $70,000 was
obtained as ransom; and the kidnapping of seven victims at Obinaofia, Ezeagu
LGA, on 12th April, 2026, during which N25m was obtained as ransom,” he
explained.
The CP revealed that the suspects, who were members of an
organised criminal network operating from different parts of the country,
usually came into the state to plan and execute kidnapping operations before
disappearing to their respective locations.
“The network is aided by an Enugu-based member who operates
a tricycle and provides transportation for the gang members, their firearms and
other criminal implements to and from operational locations. Another
Enugu-based member provides intelligence that enables the gang to evade
security surveillance and identify suitable targets and locations,” he added.
According to Giwa, investigation revealed that the suspects
laundered and concealed proceeds of their criminal activities through
investments in livestock and different properties, and engaged in lavish
spending as well as leisure and trips to foreign nations such as Cameroon.
He said the Command was still conducting more 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,” he added.
The police command also displayed five AK-47 rifles, two
pump-action guns, one locally fabricated firearm, 310 rounds of live 7.62 x
39mm ammunition, eight live cartridges, and seven empty AK-47 magazines
recovered from the suspects.
CP Giwa credited the successes recorded by the Enugu Police
Command to the availability of state-of-the-art security infrastructure,
effectiveness of sustained intelligence gathering, ICT-enabled investigation,
inter-agency collaboration, inter-state cooperation and coordinated operational
policing adopted by the Command.
He commended Governor Peter Mbah and the Inspector General
of Police for their leadership and support in ensuring security and order in
Enugu State.
“I would also like to express my profound gratitude to
Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for his for his leadership and for making the
state safe.
“I equally commend other security agencies for their
collaborative support, while also thanking members of the public for their
continued cooperation,” he concluded.
The CP reiterated police’s readiness to make Enugu State
increasingly unconducive to unrepentant local criminals, criminal elements
seeking to infiltrate the State, commending Governor Peter Mbah and IGP Disu
for their strategic leadership and support.
Meanwhile, one of the suspects confessed his crime to journalists, saying his gang operated along the stretch of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and earned multimillion naira in ransoms before they were nabbed by security forces.
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