In the past month, Akwa Ibom police have rescued four kidnapping victims. One of them is a woman who staged her own abduction.
They also arrested 52 people for a variety of crimes.
Mr. Waheed Ayilara, Commissioner of Police in the state, told journalists in Uyo on Friday that some of the crimes included murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, child trafficking, cultism, and fraud.
He said that one of the kidnapped “victims,” a female from Nung Oku village in Akwa Ibom’s Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area, planned her own kidnapping.
She then demanded an N4 million ransom but was apprehended by the police.
“A report was received on Monday from one Enobong Sampson that her sister had been kidnapped and that the kidnappers were demanding N4 million as ransom.
“As a result, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Command embarked on an intense and intelligence-driven operation to track down the kidnappers and rescue the victim.
“On Tuesday, however, the purported victim and her boyfriend were arrested at a hideout at Mbierebe Obio, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area.
“She confessed to having conspired with her boyfriend and three others to proclaim her kidnapping to raise money from her aunty based outside the country,” Ayilara said.
He stated that on Wednesday, police detained a guy in Uruting village, Okobo Local Government Area, for killing his 75-year-old father with a machete.
The suspect said that his deceased father sold all of the parcels of property he had, including the one he gave him to build his house, as the basis for his actions, according to the police commissioner.
Ayilara also stated that on March 8, police arrested one individual in Ayam village, Etinan Local Government Area, of Akwa Ibom state, for his involvement in the production of contaminated fruits, drinks, and phoney products.
Also on March 8, police rescued and detained a man who was about to be set ablaze after using point-of-sale devices to scam unsuspecting citizens.
According to Ayilara, the majority of the man’s victims had identified him, and N350,000 in cash was confiscated from him upon his arrest.
