Police Arrest Five Suspected Kidnappers, Rescue Abducted Woman in Imo

The Imo State Police Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit arrested Nwauba Alex, 25, from Ezza Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, during a patrol in Owerri on Wednesday.

Alex was reportedly caught robbing two residents at gunpoint near Aladinma Primary School in Owerri. According to a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, on Thursday, the police recovered a locally-made pistol, two rounds of live ammunition, and a torchlight from the suspect. The victims were rescued unharmed.

During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the robbery and revealed that he had purchased the shotgun from an individual in Ezza, Ebonyi State. Okoye added that efforts are ongoing to locate and apprehend the gun manufacturers, who will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The suspect will be charged in court once the investigation is completed.

In a separate operation, police arrested five suspects allegedly belonging to a kidnapping syndicate in the state. The police also rescued a 26-year-old woman who had been abducted from her residence in Obinze, Owerri West LGA, the previous Sunday.

The arrested suspects are Umaru Usman, 40, from Mauree, Sokoto; Tukur Yau, 25, from Dawakinkudur, Kano State; Musbau Sabo, 18, from Warsaw LGA, Kano State; Abdul Ibrahim, 30, from Sokoto State; and Jubrin Idris, 35, from Sokoto State.

Okoye stated that the suspects were found in possession of a pump-action gun, five cartridges, two daggers, a cutlass, and various criminal charms. Interrogation revealed that they were members of a notorious kidnapping syndicate responsible for terrorizing residents in Obinze, Avu, and surrounding areas.

The state Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, commended the officers for their efforts and urged them to continue working to reduce crime in the state to its barest minimum.