Owerri, the Imo State capital, erupted with raptures of joy, Wednesday, as the State Police Command announced that its Anti-kidnapping Unit had caught a suspected kidnap baron, Izuchukwu Chukwuma.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, also announced that a Lexus 300 SUV was recovered from the suspect, while an abducted victim, Solomon Nwabguma, was also rescued from a forest.
Ikeokwu said: “Sequel to the kidnap of one Solomon Nwanguma of Umuanu Inyishi in the Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State on October 5, 2019, at Prefab in the Owerri North Local Government Area, operatives of the Anti-kidnapping Unit swung into action, and through intelligence gathering, arrested the above named suspect in his hideout on October 7.
“The suspect has made useful statements confessing to the crime and has given the names of his gang members responsible for kidnappings within Owerri and its environs.
“He equally led the operatives to a lonely house near a forest in Umuagwu, Ifakala in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state, where the victim was rescued unhurt.
“Efforts are on to arrest other members of the gang, who are currently at large.”
In a similar development, operatives of Operation Puff Adder attached to the Bayelsa State Police Command, also set Bayelsans rejoicing, also Wednesday, as the command said it had leaders of two notorious kidnap gangs, Nelson Waripamo, popularly known as Mandela, and Jackson Dakolo, in its net.
The two suspects were said to have been terrorizing Yenagoa, the capital, and neighbouring communities for some time.
Both Waripamo, 34, and Dakolo, 35, hailed from Gbarantoru Community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the State, and were said to be the masterminds of several incidents of armed robbery and high profile abductions, said the police report, announcing the breakthrough.
The report further disclosed that Waripamo and Dakolo’s gangs usually collect ransom ranging from N5 million to N20 million.
The police said it was hunting members of their gangs as well as other notorious criminals terrorising Azuzuama, Kokorose Communities in Southern Ijaw and Okobe Community in Rivers State.
Waripamo, who resides at the Onopa area of Yenagoa, and a father of three, is alleged to be responsible for the May 26 abduction of Mrs. Orela Oyibo, the 38-year-old wife of Dr. Charlse Oyibo, a lecturer in the state-owned university, Niger Delta University.
He was said to have led the gang that stormed the home of the lecturer in Gbarantoru at about 1:00 a.m. on that fateful day, switched of the generator before breaking into the apartment and abducted Mrs. Oyibo in lieu of the lecturer-husband who reportedly bolted during the raid.
