Police in Anambra arrest kidnap suspects after victim escaped

By FRANCIS ONYEUKWU

Police in Anambra said on Wednesday in Awka that they have arrested two kidnap suspects, aged 30 years and 40 years over the kidnap of one Ijideofor Attama.

The suspects, members of a five-man armed gang operating in a Toyota Sienna, abducted Attama, 32, a native of Igbo-Etiti in Enugu State, from his Toyota Rav 4 jeep on Nnewi Road on May 14.

Attama escaped from the kidnappers’ den on May 17.

DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, police spokesman in Anambra, stated that the assailants already demanded a N10 million ransom from the victim’s family before he escaped.

He stated that the police already recovered the brown Toyota Sienna minivan used by the gang.

Ikenga stated also that on May 16, the police responded to a distress call about an attack on a vigilance group’s office at Ifite area of Awka and recovered three vehicles, a pump action gun and some live ammunition.

“Members of the vigilance group engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel at Ifite Road, Awka.

“In a bid to flee, the gunmen abandoned three of their vehicles, one brown Lexus Jeep, a black Toyota Corolla car and a brown Mercedes Benz car with registration number AA 274 EYF.

“Unfortunately, during the encounter four vigilance operatives sustained fatal injuries,” he stated.

Ikenga added that the police equally recovered one automatic pump action gun, 30 rounds of AK-47 live ammunition, six live cartridges and Sub-Machine Gun ammunition.

He quoted the Commissioner of Police in Anambra, Mr Echeng Echeng, as restating the Command’s unwavering commitment to the fight against crime and criminality in the state.

Echeng called for continuous support, especially with timely information to the police and other law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime in the state, Ikenga stated. (NAN)