Operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command have killed three members of an armed gang specialising in kidnapping people for ransom.
The commissioner of police, Akwa Ibom Command, CP Joseph Eribo, who disclosed this Monday at the command headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia, near Uyo, the state capital, disclosed that the suspects met their waterloo following their second return to kidnap a reverend father, who had earlier been kidnapped and huge ransom paid.
They were paraded along with several suspects for sundry crimes, including baby theft, armed robbery, and illegal possession of arms, amongst others.
He said: “We have neutralised three daredevil criminals notorious for kidnapping and other criminal acts. We have it on record that they once kidnapped a prominent Reverend Father, took him somewhere in this state and ransom was collected.
“This time, they were coming for a second mission to pick up the father again because one informant told them the target had a lot of money to give out. We acted on a credible intelligence and neutralised three of them.
“Another case involves a very brutal, deadly cult operating in the riverine area. This was the group that recently cut down three hunters (vigilantes) in one of the villages (Unyenghe, Mbo local government area) in the state. They beheaded them.
“We recovered two of the bodies without their heads and the other we haven’t seen till today. They told us they threw the body into the high sea. We got the No. 3 man of that deadly gang, and he confessed what they did—a terrible gang.
“Other breakthroughs were recorded, including two cases of unlawful possession of firearms with the arms recovered. There is also the case of child stealing, where children are taken from this state and sold outside for various amounts, including a child sold for N400,000 and another for N600,000. We have two women and other suspects with us.”
The CP also mentioned a case of fake kidnap whereby children wanting to extort their parents arranged their kidnap. “The lid was blown off, and we were able to apprehend them”, he recalled, adding that a dismissed police corporal was apprehended for impersonating on uniform as a serving officer to extort people.
“Only God knows how many people have fallen victim of his impersonation. A good Samaritan gave us information about him doing those things a genuine policeman wouldn’t do in uniform. That led to his arrest”, the CP said.
On the Command’s preparedness for the October protest starting Tuesday, CP Eribo said, “This state (Akwa Ibom) is called a state of promise, so it is a state of peace. The protest happened before, and it was calm here. There was no untoward incident at all.
“The Governor is doing so much to empower the youths in the state. And I don’t see why anyone would go out to protest. It will amount to an afterthought. It didn’t happen then; why will it happen now?
“But on our own, we have deployed and positioned our men. You can see how they are kitted. We appeal to the public to ensure peace. To do otherwise will amount to an ill-wind that would do nobody good.
“Genuine protest can be hijacked by criminals. And when that happens, even the protesters can become victims. So we are ready, working in synergy with our sister agencies.”
On the coming local government elections on Saturday, October 5, the CP assured that “We are deploying full strength for the exercise to ensure that there is peace till the end of it all. But we wish for peaceful elections because no life is worth an election.”
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