Abductors of Enugu college students, others arrested – Police

The police in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria, have arrested 123 suspected criminals for various offences in the state.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Kanayo Uzuegbu, disclosed this during a press briefing and parade of the suspects at the police headquarters in the state on Thursday.

He said offences committed by the suspects include murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, vandalism, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

Mr Uzuegbu said the suspects were arrested in separate operations between July and August.

He said some suspects had been arraigned and remanded in correctional centres across the state.

Recovery of arms, ammunition

The police chief said a total of 972 arms and ammunition were recovered from the suspects during the separate operations.

He said 36 vehicles used by some of the suspects were also recovered.

The vehicles were 17 vehicles, 11 tricycles and eight motorcycles.

Abductors of college students

The commissioner said among those arrested were suspected abductors of students of the Enugu State College of Health Technology in the Oji River Council Area of the state.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how armed persons invaded the college on 14 August and abducted the students.

The police later rescued two of the victims, with three others missing at the time of the incident.

During the Thursday briefing, Mr Uzuegbu announced that the remaining three abducted victims have been rescued and reunited with their families.

The commissioner said apart from the college students, 16 other abducted victims were also rescued by the operatives.

Killing of a police officer

Mr Uzuegbu refuted a report that gunmen, on Monday, killed four police officers along the Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway.

The commissioner said gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra opened fire on the operatives during the attack but that the operatives repelled the attack, forcing the attackers to flee with gunshot wounds.

“Unfortunately, a special constabulary performing traffic control duty on the said road undergoing reconstruction paid the supreme price while the team’s patrol vehicle was hit by bullets and engulfed in flames,” he said.

Demolition of kidnappers’ hideouts

Mr Uzuegbu lauded Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for taking “bold and pragmatic steps” to demolish buildings and other properties used to aid kidnapping in the state.

“The exercise will serve as a morale booster to us, especially as we execute our security operations and frantically work towards making Enugu State uninhabitable for kidnappers and other criminals,” he said.

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“We will continue to fish out these criminals and ensure that places serving as their haven are demolished accordingly,” the commissioner stated.

The commissioner urged residents of the state, particularly hoteliers, landlords and owners of uncompleted buildings, to be mindful of who they accommodate in their properties to avoid harbouring criminals.