By Chuks Eke
Anambra state police command yesterday disclosed that it has arrested no fewer than 39 armed robbery suspects, 38 cultists, 30 insurgents and 22 kidnappers in the state in the last three months.
The state Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye who disclosed this while parading the suspects, said the command also arrested six suspects who vandalized the Second Niger Bridge, just as three buyers of the vandalized items from the bridge were equally arrested within the period under review.
Adeoye further disclosed the police recovered nine stolen vehicles, 14 tricycles, seven mòtorcycles, rolls of armoured cables, arms, ammunitions, charms, police uniforms and rescued all the 18 passengers taken taken to captivity when their commercial bus belonging to GUO Transport Company Limited taking them to Lagos was hijacked along Amorka/Uli axis in Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.
On their source of weapons, Adeoye warned that anyone caught in possession of arms and ammunitions or caught manufacturing arms would be arrested and thrown into jail, adding however that once the Inspector-General of Police, IGP’s amnesty and grace period on arms which is still subsisting expires, police would begin a clamp down on those in possession of arms.
“We have porous national borders from where these arms proliferate. Weapons are also sold in Onitsha main market. There are locally made guns produced here in Awka and some deadly armed robbers and kidnappers also attack military and police formations, kill some of them and take away their arms”, the CP stated.
He noted that revelations made by the arrested cultists showed that there are only two rival cult groups in Awka, including the Black Axe and the Vikings whose members always go after their rival members, thereby causing deaths and breach of the peace.
“We smashed insurgents’ camp at Ogbunka. The insurgents were planning to kidnap a Divisional Police Officer, DPO at Ogbunka before we got wind of it and smashed their camp but the gang leaders are still at large and we are monitoring them”.
“Our joy is that after arresting the criminal gang who specialize in intercepting commercial vehicles, particularly those who hijacked an 18-seater bus belonging to G. U. Okeke Transport Company at Amorka, we rescued all the 18 passengers alive and they have since rejoined their respective families”, said Adeoye.
He disclosed that the police in the state are working round the clock to rescue the chairman of New Auto Spare Parts dealers at Mgbuka Amazu Area of Onitsha who was abducted on a sit-at-home day by unknown gunmen alive without payment of ransom.
