(The Suspects. Photo by Guardian Nigerian News)
Rivers State Police Command has arrested five suspected members of a kidn@pping syndicate allegedly responsible for multiple abductions across Oyigbo Local Government Area and adjoining regions.
The apprehensions followed a coordinated intelligence-driven operation conducted by personnel attached to Oyigbo Divisional Police Headquarters operating under directives from the Command’s Commissioner.
The identified suspects are aged between 44 and 65 and originate from Benue, Anambra, Imo and Abia states.
During preliminary investigation, the suspects reportedly confessed to involvement in kidn@pping operations conducted in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.
The Command indicated that investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend additional syndicate members who remain at large.
The Commissioner of Police characterised the arrests as a significant achievement in the Command’s ongoing response to violent crime across the state.
He attributed the operational success to the intelligence-driven policing framework introduced at the national level and pledged that the Command would maintain intensive enforcement against kidn@pping, cultism, armed robbery and related criminal activity.
The Commissioner warned that perpetrators of abduction and other crimes would find no sanctuary in Rivers State, assuring residents that offenders would be pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
He appealed to the public to remain vigilant and furnish security agencies with timely and reliable information to facilitate crime prevention and suspect apprehension.