Akwa Ibom State Police Command says it has apprehended a youth leader, Eddy Etim Onuka, and four members of his gang for alleged kidnapping and murder in the state.
Disclosing the development at a media briefing on Saturday in Ikot Akpana-Abia, the spokesperson of the command, Odiko Macdon, said the suspects were arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police Tactical Team.
He said one of the suspects, Onuka, a native of Oron LGA and youth leader of the Rice Miller Association, Oron, allegedly masterminded two kidnap incidents.
According to him, “This is a clear case of kidnapping and it is a very unfortunate one. They went to abduct one Mr Emmanuel who sells engine parts and when they got there, the man resisted the kidnap and they shot him. By the grace of God, the Special Tactical Team of IGP moved in and effected the arrest. This was the first incident.”
“The second incident, the same Eddy led members of the same kidnapping syndicate who succeeded this time around in abducting one Aniekan and collected over N20 million from him as a ransom.
“He (Eddy) got N1.2 million which he used in buying another car. His vehicle was used in committing the crime. They confessed to the fact that they used AK-47 in that particular operation.”
Macdon said all the suspects played different roles in the kidnapped of their victims.
“The account was used in collecting the ransom to the tune of N1.2 million while the other person formed surveillance, giving them information about the deceased e.g when he goes out and when he comes
“This goes to underscore the need why Akwa Ibomites at every point in time need to be conscious of security because some of these people are people who are closed to them. Another suspect here collected the phone number of the wife of the deceased and called her demanding for a ransom,” he added.
Reiterating the commitment of the command towards ensuring the safety of lives and property of the residents, the police spokesperson enjoined Akwa Ibomites to always volunteer information that could help the Police in combating crime and criminality in the state.
