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\u2019s 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\u2019s Catholic Church, Affa, Udi LGA of the state, who fled to Port Harcourt following the operational pressure mounted by joint security operatives.
\u201cFurther intelligence-led operations by the Command\u2019s 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,\u201d 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\u2013Ugwuogo\u2013Opi\u2013Nsukka Road, Obioma\u20139th Mile\u2013Umulumgbe\u2013Okpatu Road, Eke\u2013Affa\u2013Egede\u2013Ezinze axis, and various locations in Ezeagu LGA.
\u201cSpecifically, 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\u2013Ezinze 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,\u201d 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.
\u201cThe 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,\u201d 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\u2019 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.
\u201cUpon conclusion of investigation, the suspects will be charged to court in accordance with extant laws,\u201d 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.
\u201cI would also like to express my profound gratitude to Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for his for his leadership and for making the state safe.
\u201cI equally commend other security agencies for their collaborative support, while also thanking members of the public for their continued cooperation,\u201d he concluded.
The CP reiterated police\u2019s 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.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n