Anambra: Police Arrest Suspected NSCDC Officer, 2 Others Over Robbery

The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a suspected officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) alongside two others over alleged robbery in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Awka, noting that the arrests form part of ongoing efforts to enhance safety and security across the state.

According to Ikenga, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a suspected criminal hideout in Ogidi on March 21 at about 1:46 p.m., leading to the arrest of the suspects.

The suspects were identified as Francis Anene (46), Emmanuel Obi (29), and Okoye Chinonso (35), one of whom is alleged to be a serving member of a security agency.

Items recovered during the operation included two locally made Beretta pistols, four rounds of live 9mm ammunition, and a suspected fake security agency identity card.

Preliminary investigations, Ikenga said, indicate that the suspects are members of a criminal syndicate allegedly involved in armed robbery, kidnapping, and terrorising residents of Ogidi and surrounding communities. He added that the suspects are also being investigated for possible involvement in the murder of the late president-general of Ogidi.

In a separate operation, police operatives attached to the Ozubulu Division recovered a suspected stolen white petrol tanker in the early hours of March 17 along the Onitsha/Owerri Expressway. The vehicle, found abandoned without a registration number and with its key in the ignition, is believed to have been left by an unidentified individual.

The police said investigations are ongoing to trace the owner of the tanker and unravel the circumstances surrounding its abandonment, as well as to establish further details in both cases.

The commissioner of police in the state, Ikioye Orutugu, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to maintaining security and urged residents to provide timely and credible information to aid crime prevention and enforcement efforts.