The long arm of the law finally caught up with
members of a notorious kidnap gang
operating in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State
capital, on Wednesday, October 12, 2016.
The nine members of the gang, who were
apprehended by the operatives of the
Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence
Response Team in a five-hour raid that day,
said they were so efficient in their criminal
operations that they once kidnapped four
victims on the same day.
The afternoon raid led to the arrest of Daniel
Gabriel (33), Alaso Igodo (25), Akeodi Aselemi
(34), Ayibinmotei Livinus (25), Anikuroka
Marshal (33), Biebele Elijah (34) Efiye Anda
(34), Daniel Lessor (31) and Isaac Reuben
(27), all living within the Port Harcourt
metropolis.
The police said the gang was responsible for
most of the kidnappings that took place
within GRA Phase 2, Port Harcourt, Borokiri
General Area and YKC axis of Woji in Rivers
State.
According to Punch, the string of events which
led to the apprehension of the nine suspects
started with the abduction of a woman
identified as Mrs. Okotie, who was kidnapped
few weeks ago opposite the Royal House of
Grace Church in Port Harcourt.
The gang was said to have abducted her in
the Mazda car they used as operational
vehicle.
The victim told the police that she had told
the suspects that she was not feeling fine but
they did not listen to her.
Fortunately for Mrs. Okotie, the car broke
down along the way and the leader of the
gang named Blackie, called for another
vehicle, a Nissan Primera, which arrived
shortly after.
“But they did not know that we had got
information about them. They were on their
way to the Ornage Waterside when we
intercepted them. As soon as they saw us,
they fled and abandoned the woman in the car
along with one of their rifles,” the source said.
Few days after the botched kidnapping of Mrs.
Okotie, IRT operatives who were following up
on a lead, arrested Gabriel, a taxi driver,
around 2.pm on October 12.
When Gabriel, an Akwa-Ibom indigene living at
Navy Market Borikiri, Port-Harcourt was taken
in for questioning, he confessed that he had
personally been involved in 15 kidnaps in the
last few months in the state.
He then led the police to his house where five
members of the gang were already planning
another kidnap.
"When we got to his house, we arrested five of
his gang members and from there, we
proceeded to Enugu Waterfront where we
arrested Anikuroka Marshal, the gang’s
armourer. The suspects also identified Diobele
Elijah and Akodi Aselemi as their spies who go
around town scouting for victims. They
confessed to have three AK47 rifles, two
pistols, which they use in their operations," a
police source said.
In one of the kidnaps carried out by the gang,
on August 10, 2016, a pastor, Mrs. Luis Ubah
and one Mr. Chika Ezenwa were abducted. The
same day, the gang kidnapped a business
woman, Mrs. Ubah in her store, they also
grabbed another victim identified as Ezenwa
who was with Ubah at the time.
The four victims were taken by the gang to the
Indoki Estate Waterfront.
The source explained that while on their way
to the waterfront, the gang encountered a
police team and instantly opened fire on the
policemen.
"Inspector David Ijosi and one Corporal Dike
Ledee were injured by bullets in the attack.
One was hit in the leg while another was hit in
the neck and the kidnappers escaped into the
Isaka creeks in Okrika," the source said.
Soon after, the gang made contact with
Ubah’s husband, Bishop Prince Ubah, from
whom they demanded a N50m ransom for her
freedom.
During the ensuing negotiation, the ransom
for the release of the bishop’s wife was
reduced to N2.8m and a place was agreed on
for the family to drop the ransom.
But in a dramatic turn of events, when two
brothers of the bishop, Onyeka Ani and Pastor
Okezie Akara, took the money to the agreed
place on August 25, 2016, 15 days after Mrs.
Ubah was kidnapped, the gang members
decided to release her along with Ezenwa but
kidnapped the two brothers instead.
The police said they then demanded another
N1m ransom from the bishop for his brothers.
But N750, 000 was eventually paid for their
release.
The police said investigation on the scale of
the operations of the gang was still on and
that they were making efforts to arrest other
members of the gang who are now
underground.
Punch
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