Follow Us on Google
From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command on Tuesday paraded a notorious female criminal and leader of a kidnapping gang disturbing residents of the FCT with their nefarious activities.
The suspect, Ifeoma Nnamchi, 35, was arrested alongside two of her children, Gabriel Nnamchi, 14, and Stanley Nnamchi, 17, who are also members of the kidnap syndicate.
Also arrested were her lover Peter Rasheed Onwunumah, 40, Olanipekun Anuoluwa, 46, and Jemimah Monday, 25.
They were arrested after they kidnapped a young lady in the Maitama area of the FCT and demanded a ransom of N20million from her family.
Parading the suspects before newsmen at the police command headquarters in Abuja, FCT police commissioner, Ahmed Sanusi, said the suspect, who has been in the business of kidnapping, kept the victim at a remote location in Niger State for five days.
He said that during the period of her captivity, the suspect demanded a whooping N20million ransom from the family of the victim, who paid a total of N8.2million into the account of the victim.
Sanusi said that upon receiving the report of the abduction of the young lady, the police went into action by tracking the telephone number of the victim, which the kidnappers used to communicate with the family and tracked them to Kwan-kwashe Village, a remote settlement in Niger State, where they were arrested.
Before their arrest, the commissioner said that the suspects had already packed their luggage and were preparing to escape.
Briefing newsmen on how the suspects were arrested, the commissioner said, “The suspected kidnappers subsequently contacted the victim’s family and demanded a ransom of Twenty Million Naira (₦20,000,000) for her release.
“Unknown to the suspects, we were already hot on their trail. Our digital tracking revealed that they had taken the victim out of the FCT and kept her in Kwan-kwashe Village, a remote settlement in Niger State.
“The suspects eventually collected a ransom of Eight Million, two hundred and fifty thousand naira (₦8,250,000) from the victim’s family before releasing her on the 3rd of July, 2026.
“This development did not deter us. We remained on the trail of the suspects until the 5th of July, 2026, when our operatives arrested six members of the gang in Suleja area of Niger State, two of whom are children of the gang leader.
“Upon their arrest, the commissioner said the suspects were found to be in possession of the sum of (N8,250,000), being the ransom collected from the victim’s family.
“Two fully tinted operational vehicles, a Toyota Corolla with registration number SMK 559 FV and a Toyota Camry with Reg: No: YAB 712 NH. One sharp cutlass, seven EarPods, several jewelries suspected to belong to their previous victims, five mobile phones and one laptop.”
He further stated, “Further investigations revealed that the gang leader, Ifeoma Nnamchi, and the third accomplice, Olanipekun Anuoluwa, are both repeat offenders who were previously arrested by the FCT Police Command in 2022 and 2019, respectively, for the same offence.
“Despite her previous arrest, both suspects returned to constitute this syndicate, which has been operating along Kubwa Expressway, Maitama Federal Housing Road, and other locations within the FCT since 2024.
“The syndicate revealed that they have carried out several other “one chance” operations which they cannot accurately recall. But in their most recent operations, they have successfully kidnapped and robbed five separate female victims and extorted ransoms amounting to Twelve Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira (₦12,800,000).”
The commissioner said suspects and the recovered exhibits remain in police custody and will be taken to court upon the conclusion of investigations.
Speaking of the achievements so far recorded by the command, Sanusi said that, in continuation of its efforts to rid the Federal Capital Territory of violent criminals operating within border communities of the FCT and neighbouring states, the commander arrested four suspects for offences relating to kidnapping and the supply of ammunition and illicit substances.
“The arrests took place on the 5th of July, 2026, following an ongoing clearance operation in remote communities around Kwali, Abaji and Kuje Area councils, dislodged kidnappers’ hideouts, smoked their caves in Nago forest in Kuje Area Council and arrested four (4) suspects.
“These operations, being carried out by a combined security team led by the FCT Police Command Anti-Kidnapping Unit, successfully tracked and arrested the following suspects: Bello Abdullahi, Shuaibu Iliya, Idris Abubakar and Misbahu Isa.
“During the clearance operation, one of the arrested suspects, identified as Misbahu Isa, took police operatives to Zuba motor park where the operatives recovered forty-two (42) live rounds of 7.62mm ammunition concealed inside his Volkswagen Golf saloon vehicle which he uses to operate as a commercial driver.
“Investigations revealed that Misbahu Isa is an Arms dealer responsible for supplying ammunition to several kidnappers across Niger, Kaduna, and Kogi states.
Most recently, he supplied over twenty thousand (20,000) rounds of live ammunition to wanted bandits and kidnappers and received a payment of three million naira (N3,000,000) as payment for the deliveries.
“Upon their arrest, the following exhibits were recovered from them:
1. Six (6) bottles of codolyn syrup
2. Nine (9) bottles of Piscof Syrup
3. Two bottles of Exiplon Syrup
4. One (1) bottle of NGC Codeine Syrup
5. One hundred and twenty-five wraps of dry leaves suspected to be cannabis sativa
6. Twenty-one (21) tablets of Tramadol 100mg.
7. Seventeen capsules of Tramadol 100mg.
8. One (1) torchlight.
9. One national identity slip belonging to one Sani umar.
10. One bunch of fresh leaves suspected to be cannabis sativa
11. Cash sum of one hundred and seventy thousand naira (N170,000) only
12. One bag of assorted clothes
13. One Tecno handset.
14. Seventy-eight (78) tablets of Exzole
15. One magazine loaded with six (6) rounds of live 7.62mm ammunition.
Raid of identified black spots, arrest of suspects and recovery of exhibits
The FCT Police Command, through intelligence gathering and community policing, has identified and raided several criminal hotspots across the Federal Capital Territory in the past week.
These raid operations were carried out by Divisions across the Command and resulted in the arrest of five hundred and sixty (560) suspects and recovery of illicit drugs, arms and other exhibits.
A detailed breakdown of the exhibits recovered from these raids includes:
1. One (1) locally fabricated pistol.
2. One (1) locally fabricated AK-47rifle.
3. Three live 9mm ammunition”
While assuring that the police will not rest on its laurels until these criminal elements are flushed out of the Federal Capital Territory, Sanusi urged residents to continue to partner with the Police by providing timely information that will assist in anti-crime operations aimed at safeguarding the lives and property of residents across the FCT.
