Rivers: Police arrest four kidnapping suspects, rescue victim

The Rivers State Police Command said it has recorded another significant breakthrough in its sustained crackdown on kidnapping and violent crime with the arrest of four suspected members of a notorious kidnapping syndicate.

The command said it also successfully rescued an abducted woman and recovered the gang’s operational vehicle.

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said in a statement on Thursday that the operation was launched following a report by Mr Ikechukwu, who informed the police that his 35-year-old wife, Mrs Ikechukwu, was abducted by armed men on Friday, 10 July 2026, while attending to customers at her shop.

The PPRO said that, according to the report, the kidnappers forcefully took her away in a white-tinted minibus.

She stated: “Acting on the directives of the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) immediately launched an intelligence-driven operation that led to the arrest of four suspects and the safe rescue of the victim.”

The arrested suspects were identified as:

• Owhor Chinedu (42), from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA);
• Isioto Waribok (30), from Andoni Local Government Area;
• Maduabuchi Emeka (34), from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA); and
• Joe Karachi (28), from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA).

During the operation, police recovered the white minibus allegedly used by the syndicate to carry out the abduction.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects confessed to their individual roles in the kidnapping. Police have intensified efforts to arrest two other fleeing members of the gang and recover the firearms allegedly used during the operation.

The Commissioner of Police reassured residents that the Rivers State Police Command remains committed to dismantling kidnapping syndicates and other violent criminal networks across the state.

He urged members of the public to continue supporting the police by providing credible and timely information, assuring them that all reports would be treated with the highest level of confidentiality.

The command reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to protecting lives and property and ensuring that every criminal is brought to justice.