Police smash kidnap gang in Rivers

By Chizoba Ogbeche
Abuja

The Nigeria Police has said that its officers have smashed a suspected kidnap gang in Rivers state.
A press statement by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Don Awunah, yesterday in Abuja, said the gang known to have been terrorising law-abiding citizens in Rivers and its environs met its end when they kidnapped a woman and her one-year-old daughter from their Port Harcourt home.

The spokesperson said the gang had demanded N2.5 million as ransom for their freedom, however, based on credible technical intelligence generated by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligent Response Team (IRT), the money was provided as bait to trap the suspects.
He said the end of the kidnap gang came when in their attempt to claim the said sum of money at the agreed point operatives of the IRT engaged them, rescued the victims and arrested four of the kidnappers.

Awunah named the suspects as: Herbert Oriminagbe, Chijioke Akah, alias Kottos, Kelechi Nwaordu, alias Seedof and Nelson Ajumogobia alias Ibios.
He said while going through a laptop computer recovered from them, it was discovered that the real owner Undunobuk was once robbed in his Port Harcourt residence and later kidnapped to unknown seaside only to be released following the payment of N1.3million.
He said Ag IGP Ibrahim Idris had warned criminals, especially kidnappers in the country not to think Nigeria is lawless, noting that the Nigeria Police Force had the technical and intelligence capacity and capability to reduce the perceived rise in crime, especially kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and other violent crimes.