The Abia State Police Command has arrested and paraded four young men suspected to be fake members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps [NSCDC] who specialised in hijacking petroleum tanker drivers for ransom.
Speaking in Umuahia while parading them yesterday [Monday], the state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, said his men intercepted a Passat car with registration number NKR 271 AA with four men inside the car.
He said when they were interrogated; they claimed to be members of the NSCDC but on a mission to hijack tanker trucks with Premium Motor Spirit [PMS] otherwise known as petrol and other petroleum products.
He gave the names of the suspects as Thankgod Ani, Chinedu Ezekwem, Peter Onyemechi and Chimezie Nnadozie, while items recovered from them included two pairs of NSCDC uniforms, a jack knife and two pairs of safety booths.
Answering questions from newsmen, Onyemechi said he organised the other members of the team to go for the operation and that they sew the uniforms, stressing that the Passat car belongs to him.
The Abia police boss said his men also received a distress call from residents of St Paul area in Umungasi, Aba that armed robbers were operating in their area. “My men moved in and gave them a hot chase and during the exchange of gun shots one of the robbers was shot.”
The CP said, “The man who was shot and wounded was Rowland Davidson Iweka of Ogba in Doli Egbeme Council Area of Rivers State. He was taken to the hospital for treatment to enable us extract information from him, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.”
He gave the items recovered from them as one pump action gun, one rifle suitcase, and two lady’s bags containing ladies items, nine different phones, one HP laptop, one DVD player and cash of twenty-two thousand naira.
Oyebade said the gang his team smashed had been on their wanted list, stressing that they had killed one Abraham Willy of Etinan in Akwa Ibom State and wounded Okoro Peter Sopuru ‘m’ and Ifeanyi Ijeoma ‘f’ both students of Abia Polytechnics, Aba.
The police boss said his men within the period recovered one locally made pistol from a tricycle that was carrying three men, with the registration number IMO RLU 315 WH.
He said that on sighting the police, the men in the tricycle stopped the tricycle and took to their heels. “On searching the tricycle, we recovered one loaded locally made pistol; we are looking for the owner of the tricycle to enable us find the gang members.”
He also said his men rescued one kidnap victim at Ohuru Isimiri in Obingwa council area of the state, “We received a report from Mrs. Beauty Ogbonna that her husband has been kidnapped by a seven man gang who made away with their vehicle with registration AKD 925 CY.”
“Our team of operatives moved in and gave the suspected kidnappers a hot chase, which led to their abandoning their victim unhurt with the vehicle. The victim has been reunited with his family, we after the fleeing suspects.”
The Abia CP said his men have also smashed a child trafficking syndicate which is situated at No 2 St Bridget Road, Aba, where one Ifeanyi Agbasonu and his wife Oluchi have been operating.
Oyebade said that when his men arrived there, the husband escaped while the wife, Oluchi, was arrested along with two teenage pregnant girls, Esther Odum and Ebere Ejimadu, both from Imo State, were rescued.
Answering questions, Esther said she came to the place for the treatment of an undisclosed infection.
Oluchi, however, said she sells vegetables while her husband is a homeopathic doctor, who travelled out when the police came.
