By Izunna Okafor, Awka
As Christians celebrate Easter across the globe, the Anambra State Police Command has reaffirmed its commitment to public safety with intensified security patrols across the State, resulting in the rescue of kidnap victims, arrest of a notorious cultist and kidnap suspect, and the recovery of dangerous weapons.
This was disclosed in a statement issued to newsmen on Saturday by the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu.
According to the statement, operatives of the Command, while conducting intensified patrols to safeguard lives and property during the Easter celebrations, rescued two kidnapped victims and recovered seven pump-action guns, eight live cartridges, three handcuffs, a cutlass, an axe, a dagger, and other incriminating materials in separate operations across the state.
It was gathered that the kidnap victims were rescued in the early hours of Friday, April 18, 2025, during a joint operation by police operatives from the Uli Divisional Headquarters and members of the local vigilante in Ihiala. The victims had earlier been abducted at Amorka village, Uli, along the Onitsha–Owerri Expressway on Sunday, April 13, after their vehicle was double-crossed and they were forced into another car by armed men. Their abandoned vehicle was recovered by the responding team and taken into police custody.
Efforts are currently ongoing to track down and apprehend the perpetrators of the abduction.
In a separate development, officers attached to the Fegge Divisional Headquarters in Onitsha intercepted a suspicious bus parked along Port Harcourt Road, Upper Iweka, on Wednesday, April 17, at about 1:30 p.m., the Police Spokesman confirmed. He said a thorough search of the vehicle revealed a bag of rice containing five pump-action guns, eight live cartridges, and two handcuffs neatly concealed within it. The weapons and the bus were immediately recovered as investigations continue to uncover those behind the illegal arms transport.
Similarly, on the same day at about 1:27 p.m., the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Rapid Response Squad, acting on credible intelligence, stormed an apartment at Ezeigwe Street, Nkpor, in Idemili North Local Government Area. There, the operatives arrested a 25-year-old suspect, Israel Akachukwu, and recovered two more pump-action guns, two live cartridges, a cutlass, a yellow axe, and a dagger from the premises. The suspect reportedly confessed to being a member of the Vikings Confraternity and is cooperating with authorities to arrest other members of the gang.
The Police Command, while expressing gratitude to the public for their vigilance and support, urged residents to continue to be security conscious and law-abiding throughout the Easter holidays and beyond.
According to him, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, encouraged citizens to emulate the virtues of humility and selflessness exemplified by Christ, and to use the festive season to pray for sustained peace and security in Anambra State and Nigeria at large.
He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to crime prevention and promised that operations would continue across various flashpoints to ensure a safe and hitch-free celebration.
