Crime
Anambra police rescue 4 children sold in Bauchi State
By Our Reporter
Anambra Police Commissioner Nnaghe Obono Itam has announced that four children who were sold in Bauchi State were recovered in Anambra state.
This is coming as the Commissioner announced that by the end of this year 2025 , the rate of crime would have been reduced to thirty percent in line with the Gov Charles Soludo security program known as Operation Udo Ga Di.
The Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, while speaking to reporters in Awka also stated that security operatives in the state will do everything within their power to reduce the crime rate by 30 percent in 2025.
He called on stakeholders in the state, including the Traditional Rulers and President Generals of various communities, and residents, to partner with the police for effective policing.
The State Commissioner of Police made the statement on Monday while briefing journalists at the police headquarters in Amawbia, Awka South Local Government Area, on the activities of the command in 2024.
During the briefing, 13 criminal suspects involved in murder, kidnapping, and other criminal activities were paraded.
The police commissioner revealed that in 2024, they arrested 325 criminal suspects, secured 30 convictions, and rescued 14 kidnapped victims.
Speaking on the fate of the four children he announced that the suspects confessed to the crime and narrated the role each of them played.
Itam said that one of the children had been identified, and efforts were already in place to reunite the child with their parents.
“The Command wishes to use this opportunity to request that you, the media, assist in sharing the pictures of these innocent children for possible identification and reunification with their parents,” he said.
He further stated that in the early hours of December 24, 2024, a joint security operation led by the Nigeria Police Force, comprising the military, civil defense, and Anambra Vigilante operatives, successfully dismantled a criminal camp located in Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area.
According to him, the operation resulted in the destruction of several makeshift structures within the camp, the recovery of 19 unexploded improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and significant injuries inflicted on fleeing suspects.
He said the operation followed credible intelligence regarding the activities of the criminal gang in the area, coupled with information obtained during the interrogation of suspects arrested in ongoing police operations across the state.
Itam also reported that police operatives attached to the Special Anti-Cultism Squad, Enugu-Ukwu, acting on credible information, arrested one Miracle Mwakalor, 18 years old, from Umubele village, Awka-South Local Government Area, on December 6 and they recovered one AK-47 rifle and one magazine from him.
According to him, the operatives raided the criminal gang’s den during a debrief about their plans to commit havoc in Nibo, Awka South Local Government Area.
He said that while Miracle was apprehended, his other gang members escaped and during interrogation, he confessed to the crime and led the operatives to an apartment in Ubuofu, Awka, where the recovered rifle had been hidden in the roof.
The commissioner stated that the command rescued four children allegedly stolen from their parents in Bauchi State and sold into the state. He called on those looking to adopt children to follow the proper process by going to orphanages rather than buying stolen children.
“Police operatives attached to the Anti-Cultism Squad in Enugu Ukwu, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, raided an identified black spot in Umunaga Village, Awka South LGA, in the late hours of Saturday, December 7, 2024. During the operation, one Okechukwu Chinwuko (27 years) of Umunaga Village and Ezenwa Chinedu (22 years) of Umuneri Village were arrested. Other incriminating items recovered included one pump-action gun, four live cartridges, a cutlass, criminal charms, and substances suspected to be hard drugs. The operatives also rescued two female victims who had been sexually assaulted by the suspects,” he stated.
The commissioner also noted that they had suspects who murdered their brother and buried him in a shallow grave in a compound at Oko. The deceased, Chibuzor Okeke, was accused of burglary and theft.
According to him, his brother, Chidiebere Okeke, and his cousin, Emebo Ogochukwu, caught him and beat him into unconsciousness and Chibuzor was rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead, inorder to cover up the incident, the two suspects dug a shallow grave in their compound and buried Chibuzor.
Troops of the newly established 15 Brigade of the Nigerian Army have dismantled three suspected IPOB/ESN camps and recovered weapons, explosives, and other logistics during an operation in Anambra State.
The operation was conducted in the early hours of Saturday, August 15, 2026, following intelligence on the activities of suspected IPOB/ESN members operating around Osuakwa, along the boundary between Ihiala and Ogbaru Local Government Areas.
The troops, operating under Joint Task Force South East, Operation UDO KA, carried out the operation alongside personnel of the Department of State Services and members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group.
According to the Nigerian Army on X on Saturday, the joint force came under hostile fire during the operation but “responded decisively, overwhelming the criminals after a fierce firefight.”
A cache of weapons, explosives and other items, including one FN rifle with 10 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, one pump-action shotgun with five cartridges and 15 sticks of dynamite, four motorcycles, one gas cylinder, three hybrid batteries, two car batteries and three handheld radio chargers.
The Army said three suspected IPOB/ESN members were killed during the operation, while the three camps were successfully overrun and destroyed.
Troops also recovered a cache of weapons, explosives and other items, including one FN rifle with 10 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, one pump-action shotgun with five cartridges and 15 sticks of dynamite.
Other recovered items included four motorcycles, one gas cylinder, three hybrid batteries, two car batteries and three handheld radio chargers.
Further exploitation of the area led to the arrest of a suspected IPOB/ESN member identified as Chijioke, alongside a man and a woman suspected of being accomplices. The three were reportedly found in the company of six children.
The Commander of 15 Brigade commended the troops, DSS personnel and members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group for their “courage, discipline and outstanding inter-agency cooperation.”
He described the operation as “another major setback for criminal and terrorist elements seeking to undermine peace and security in the South East.”
The Nigerian Army also assured residents that the newly established brigade would continue to sustain intelligence-led operations in collaboration with other security agencies and local stakeholders.
The Brigade said it remains committed to “denying all criminal elements freedom of action” and ensuring the safety and security of law-abiding residents across Anambra State and the wider South-East region.
Chief Sir Joseph Ebere Ezeokafor, chairman of Jezco Group of Companies, popularly known as Jezco, has regained his freedom after spending several days in the custody of his abductors.
Ezeokafor, the father of popular social media personality Jowi Zaza, was abducted in the early hours of Tuesday while on his way to a prayer ground in Awka, Anambra State.
The businessman was reportedly released near the boundary between Anambra and Enugu States, close to Ebenebe, near Awka. A family member was said to have picked him up late at night after his release.
His freedom followed ransom negotiations between the kidnappers and his family. The abductors had initially demanded N700 million before reportedly increasing the ransom to N1.5 billion.
However, following negotiations, the family eventually agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to secure his release.
Details of the final amount agreed upon, including whether the full sum was paid before or after his release, were not immediately available.
His release has brought relief to his family, friends, business associates and well-wishers, following widespread concern over his abduction across Anambra State and beyond.
Ezeokafor is the founder of Jezco Oil and Lubricants, a company he established in 1980 and subsequently expanded into other areas of manufacturing and business.
The circumstances surrounding the abduction and release, as well as the identities of the abductors, remain unclear.
Relatives of some of the 52 kidnapped residents of Borno State have resorted to selling their houses in anticipation of ransom demands by the kidnappers.The victims were kidnapped by gunmen from different parts of the state on April 15.The spokesperson for the families of the victims, Hassan Yati, said that one of the relatives whose two sons were kidnapped had been defrauded of N1.5m out of the N3m demanded by individuals posing as the abductors.He said the family later discovered that the actual terrorists had neither demanded the money nor authorised anyone to collect ransom on their behalf.Yati added that the incident had compounded the financial burden on families already struggling to cater to their children.He also revealed that a woman whose only daughter was kidnapped had sold her family house in the Biu Local Government Area of the state.“Initially, we thought it was money the kidnappers wanted. One of the parents with only daughter kidnapped told me she sold her family house in Biu in anticipation, only to hear otherwise.“Even me, I put our family house up for sale, but no one is talking to us again,” he stated.Yati said he decided to sell his family house because his younger brother and his wife were among those abducted on April 15.
He explained that he had been under pressure from other relatives of the victims, who accused him of withholding information about efforts to secure the release of their loved ones.“The rest of the parents bombard me with calls and messages. They now accuse me of hiding information,” he said.Yati said efforts to get the attention of the government had so far yielded no result, leaving the families to endure what he described as prolonged silence from the authorities.A parent who sold her house, Monday Bako, expressed frustration, saying her daughter was kidnapped on January 13.Bako, a food vendor, said, “They kidnapped my daughter since 13th of January till today. I have no idea of where they are and who held her captive. We have not heard anything about her and others abducted in our community.“I later sold my house to raise money in case we hear any information. We thought they would demand ransom but unfortunately, nothing has been demanded.”Another relative, whose wife and three-month-old baby are in the terrorists’ den, appealed to the government to expedite action towards their release.“We are tired of waiting. We are dying in silence. Our appeal to the government is for them to come to our aid,” the source said.
Headline
The Police Command in Enugu State has arrested 14 kidnap suspects through intelligence-led operations, which busted major kidnapping syndicates operating in the state.
Police recovered some items, which included: 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 state Commissioner of Police, Mr Mamman Giwa, disclosed this during a press briefing on Friday in Enugu on the recent successes recorded by the command in the state against coordinated syndicates of kidnap gangs.
The commissioner said that recently, in separate joint operations, security operatives rescued kidnapped victims at Ogbozara Community in Nsukka LGA and Owukpa Community in Ogbadibo LGA of Benue State, with several exhibits, including live ammunition, recovered.
According to him, most recently, one of the victims abducted from a Church at Inoyi, Affa Community in Udi LGA, was rescued on Aug. 2.
“A joint, intelligence-led operations subsequently led to the rescue of the remaining two victims, the arrest of three suspects, the neutralisation of one suspect, and the recovery of ransom money, firearms, ammunition and other incriminating exhibits.
“Further intelligence-led operations by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Violent Crime Response Unit (AK-VCRU) led to the arrest of two additional male suspects linked to the Affa Church kidnapping.
“The duo, who fled to Port Harcourt following the operational pressure mounted by joint security operatives, were traced and arrested in Port Harcourt and brought back to Enugu.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that after fleeing Enugu, the suspects regrouped with their cohorts in Port Harcourt and abducted another victim, who was released after a ransom of ₦5 million was paid,” he said.
The commissioner said that in a sustained offensive against kidnapping and other violent crimes, 12 additional suspects were earlier arrested through human and technical intelligence-led operations conducted in different parts of the country.
He said that the suspects were arrested on various dates in June, July and August 2026 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kwara and Taraba States.
Giwa said investigation indicated the suspects are members of an organised criminal network operating from different parts of the country, adding they converge in Enugu State to plan and execute kidnapping operations before returning to their respective locations.
He said that the network was aided by an Enugu-based member, who operates a tricycle and provides transportation for the gang members, their firearms and other criminal implements to and from operational locations.
The state police boss said that another Enugu-based member provides intelligence that enables the gang to evade security surveillance and identify suitable targets and locations.
“The suspects have, during interrogation, confessed to involvement in several recent and past kidnapping incidents across Enugu State, including along Enugu–Ugwuogo–Opi–Nsukka Road; Obioma–9th Mile–Umulumgbe–Okpatu Road; Eke–Affa–Egede–Ezinze axis; and various locations in Ezeagu LGA.
“Specifically, preliminary investigation has linked the suspects to the following armed kidnapping incidents: The abduction of a male victim at Mgbabuowa/Aguobuowa, Ezeagu LGA, on May 25 during which ₦5.5 million was obtained as ransom.
“The abduction of two male victims and the shooting and murder of a female victim at Obioma, Udi LGA, on May 9 during which the gang obtained twenty-eight thousand US Dollars ($28,700) as ransom.
“The abduction of two male victims along the Eke–Ezinze Road, Udi LGA, on April 10 for which Seventy Thousand US Dollars ($70,000) was obtained as ransom.
“The kidnapping of seven victims at Obinaofia, Ezeagu LGA, on April 12 during which ₦25 million was obtained as ransom as well as other kidnapping incidents and ransom payments which the suspects disclosed during interrogation,” he said.
He said that the suspects laundered and concealed proceeds of their criminal activities through investments in livestock and different properties, lavish spending and other conspicuous consumption, as well as leisure and overseas trips.
The commissioner noted that further investigations would establish the suspects’ involvement in other kidnapping and violent-crime incidents within and outside the state, identify and arrest other members of the syndicate, and recover additional firearms, ammunition.
“The command will also recover other criminal proceeds and finally after the extensive investigations they will be charged to court in accordance with extant laws,” he added.
The incident reportedly occurred on August 12, 2026, at Gwamma Village in Bauchi Local Government Area, where the suspect was said to have allegedly laced her husband’s meal with a poisonous substance.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Nafiu Habib, said the police received a distress call at about 7:40pm from an anonymous woman in the Wunti Dada area of Bauchi.
He said operatives attached to the ‘C’ Division, Tafawa Balewa Estate, immediately responded to the report and rushed the victim to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital for medical attention.
According to Habib, the victim was still receiving treatment and was in stable condition as of the time of the report.
He added that detectives recovered an empty bottle suspected to have contained the poisonous substance, alongside remnants of the food allegedly contaminated by the suspect.
The items, he said, had been preserved as exhibits to aid the ongoing investigation.
Following the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.Law Enforcement
Habib said the suspect would be prosecuted after the completion of the investigation, while the command urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities to the police.
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