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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The Enugu State Police Command has arrested 14 suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate allegedly linked to several abductions and a murder in the state, with the suspects reportedly collecting more than N40 million and $98,700 in ransom from four separate operations.
The Commissioner of Police, Mamman Giwa, disclosed this on Friday while parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Enugu.
According to Giwa, the suspects were arrested through a series of intelligence-led operations conducted in Enugu and other parts of the country.
He said preliminary investigations had linked the syndicate to several kidnapping incidents along major routes and communities in Enugu State, including the Enugu-Ugwuogo-Opi-Nsukka Road, Obioma-9th Mile-Umulumgbe-Ukpatu Road and the Eke-Affa-Egede-Ezinze axis.
Giwa said the suspects were also linked to various kidnapping incidents in Ezeagu Local Government Area.
Giving details of some of the cases, Giwa said the gang abducted a male victim at Mgbabuowa/Aguobuowa, Ezeagu LGA, on May 25, 2026, and collected N5.5 million as ransom.
He said the gang also abducted two male victims and shot dead a female victim at Obioma, Udi LGA, on May 9, 2026, collecting $28,700 as ransom.
According to him, two male victims were abducted along the Eke-Ezinze Road, Udi LGA, on April 10, 2026, with the gang collecting $70,000 for their release.
The syndicate also allegedly kidnapped seven victims at Obinaofia, Ezeagu LGA, on April 12, 2026, and collected N25 million as ransom.
“These are in addition to other kidnapping incidents and ransom payments which the suspects have disclosed during interrogation,” Giwa said.
The police commissioner further disclosed that two of the suspects linked to the abduction of worshippers from a church at Inoyi, Affa Community, Udi LGA, fled to Port Harcourt following pressure from security operatives.
He said the suspects later regrouped with their associates in Port Harcourt and abducted another victim, who was released after N5 million ransom was paid.
Giwa said the two suspects were subsequently traced and arrested in Port Harcourt by operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Violent Crime Response Unit (AK-VCRU).
He explained that 12 other suspects had earlier been arrested through human and technical intelligence operations in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kwara and Taraba states.
The CP said investigations showed that the suspects belonged to an organised criminal network whose members operated from different parts of the country but converged in Enugu to plan and execute kidnapping operations.
He said an Enugu-based member of the gang operated a tricycle and allegedly transported the gang members, firearms and other criminal implements to and from operational locations.
Another Enugu-based member, he added, allegedly provided intelligence that helped the gang evade security surveillance and identify potential targets.
Giwa said the suspects had confessed to involvement in several recent and past kidnapping operations in the state.
He added that the gang invested and concealed proceeds from its criminal activities in livestock and properties, while also spending heavily on leisure and overseas trips, including visits to neighbouring Cameroon.
Items recovered from the suspects include five AK-47 rifles, two pump-action guns, one locally fabricated firearm, 310 rounds of live 7.62 x 39mm ammunition, eight live cartridges and seven AK-47 empty magazines.
The commissioner said investigations were ongoing to establish the suspects’ involvement in other kidnapping and violent crime cases within and outside Enugu State, as well as identify and arrest other members of the syndicate.
He said the suspects would be charged to court upon completion of investigations.
Giwa assured residents that the command would sustain its offensive against kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, rape, cultism and other violent crimes.
He also appealed to members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly provide the police with information on suspicious persons, movements and activities.
