The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested ten suspected kidnappers who were allegedly preparing to kidnap an expatriate working on the state’s Calabar-Itu Highway building project.
Following a tip-off, police operatives of the Ibiono Ibom division raided the hideouts of the suspects in the Ibiaku Ikot Oku community woodland and detained them.
The arrest was announced on Friday by Olatoye Durosinmi, the state’s Commissioner of Police, at the command’s headquarters in Ikot-Akpanabia, Uyo, the state capital, while the suspects and 69 others apprehended for various offenses in the state were paraded.
The police chief stated that four of the suspects were arrested on January 16, 2024, during a gun duel with the officers of the Ibiono Ibom division, while the other six were arrested in a swift follow-up operation conducted by the anti-robbery unit of the command.
Furthermore, he disclosed that four AK-47 rifles were recovered from them during the operations, while some escaped with bullet wounds.
Durosinmi said, “As we strive daily to keep the state safe, criminal elements too have continued to try to perpetrate their nefarious acts.
“In January alone, 79 criminals have been arrested for various crimes.
“The greatest achievement within the last month is the arrest of 10 confessed kidnappers, who were planning to unleash mayhem on the state, and the recovery of four AK-riffles.
“On January 16, 2024, at about 3:45 p.m., operatives of Ibiono Ibom Division, relying on credible intelligence, stormed the Ibiaku Ikot Oku community forest, where over 15 heavily armed suspects were camping, and engaged them in a gun duel.
“Some of the suspects absconded with bullet wounds, while four of them were arrested, and one AK-47 rifle was recovered.
“A swift follow-up of the operation by the anti-robbery unit of the command led to the further arrest of six suspects and the recovery of three more AK 47 rifles.”
The commissioner stated that the suspects came from neighboring states to wreak mayhem in Akwa Ibom and that they had confessed to arranging and monitoring the kidnapping of an expatriate involved in the Calabar-Itu Highway building project.
While praising the people of the state and requesting their continued cooperation, the CP stated that the suspects would be charged in court as soon as the investigations were completed.
