Crime
PHOTOS: Police arrest 14 suspected kidnappers linked to multiple abductions, murder in Enugu
The Enugu State Police Command has arrested 14 suspected members of an interstate kidnapping syndicate allegedly linked to multiple abductions and a murder in different parts of the state, recovering five AK-47 rifles, other firearms and 310 rounds of live ammunition.
The Commissioner of Police, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Enugu.
Giwa said the suspects were allegedly members of an organised criminal network operating from different parts of Nigeria that converged on Enugu to plan and execute kidnapping operations before returning to their various locations.
According to him, the suspects have 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 Local Government Area.
Giwa said the suspects had been linked to the May 25, 2026, abduction of a male victim at Mgbabuowa/Aguobuowa, Ezeagu LGA, during which N5.5 million ransom was allegedly paid. They were also allegedly involved in the May 9 abduction of two men and the shooting and murder of a woman at Obioma, Udi LGA, where $28,700 was reportedly collected as ransom.
He added that the gang was also linked to the April 10 abduction of two male victims along the Eke-Ezinze Road, Udi LGA, for which $70,000 was allegedly paid, and the April 12 kidnapping of seven victims at Obinaofia, Ezeagu LGA, which reportedly yielded N25 million in ransom.“These are in addition to other kidnapping incidents and ransom payments which the suspects have disclosed during interrogation,” he said.
The commissioner said the breakthrough followed sustained intelligence-led operations by the command and other security agencies, particularly after the kidnapping of worshippers at a church in Inoyi, Affa Community, Udi LGA.
One victim was rescued on August 2, while subsequent operations led to the rescue of the remaining two victims, the arrest of three suspects and the neutralisation of another.
Giwa said two additional suspects linked to the Affa church kidnapping were later traced to Port Harcourt after fleeing Enugu. Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Violent Crime Response Unit arrested the suspects and brought them back to Enugu for investigation.
Preliminary investigations, he said, showed that the suspects allegedly regrouped with other members of the syndicate in Port Harcourt and abducted another victim, who was released after a N5 million ransom was paid.
The police commissioner said 12 other suspects had earlier been arrested between June and August in Abuja, Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kwara and Taraba states through human and technical intelligence operations, suggesting that the syndicate operated across state boundaries.
He disclosed that the gang allegedly had local collaborators in Enugu, including a tricycle operator who transported members, 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,” Giwa said.
According to him, investigations also revealed that the suspects allegedly concealed proceeds of their criminal activities through investments in livestock and properties, lavish spending, leisure activities and overseas trips, including visits to neighbouring Cameroon.
Items recovered from the suspects include 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.
Giwa said investigations were continuing to establish the suspects’ involvement in other kidnapping and violent crime cases within and outside Enugu State, identify other members of the syndicate and recover additional weapons and criminal proceeds.
“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,” he said.
The commissioner attributed the breakthrough to sustained intelligence gathering, technology-enabled investigation, inter-agency collaboration and interstate cooperation, assuring residents that the police would maintain pressure on criminal networks operating in the state.
“We will continue to make Enugu State increasingly unconducive to unrepentant local criminals, criminal elements seeking to infiltrate the State, and their activities,” Giwa declared.
He urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious persons, movements and activities to the police, assuring them that the suspects would be charged to court after investigations in accordance with extant laws.
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