By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Anambra State Police Command said it has recorded fresh operational breakthroughs in its ongoing onslaught against criminal elements and criminal activities in the State.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen on Tuesday, in which he said that the feats were recorded in series of coordinated operations carried out by the operatives of the Command in different parts of the state.
Loading ...According to him, operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad of the Command, in the early hours of Tuesday, arrested one Gospel Ozioma Nneto, aged 31, popularly known as “OZ,” who he described as a notorious leader of a proscribed armed separatist group in the region.
The Police Spokesman further revealed that in another operation, the Divisional Police Officers of Nimo and Nteje, in collaboration with local vigilante operatives, successfully rescued three kidnapped victims who were held hostage by suspected armed hoodlums. He listed some of the items recovered during the operations to include one pump-action gun, a dagger, and other incriminating items.
“The arrested suspect, Gospel Nneto, is a known terrorist, kidnapper, and armed robber, and a confirmed member of the proscribed separatist group. During interrogation, he confessed to being a photographer for the group, operating from a camp known as ‘Mother Valley,’ located in the Orsumohu-Orsu axis,” he said.
SP Ikenga also revealed that the suspect is currently undergoing further interrogation, while discreet investigations continue to uncover his criminal network and activities.
In a related development, the Police Spokesman said a joint security team comprising police operatives from Nimo Division and local vigilante members, acting on credible intelligence, raided some forested areas between Oraukwu and Nimo communities on the evening of Tuesday, July 15, which led to the successful rescue of two female kidnap victims, who he said would be reunited with their families after undergoing necessary medical and psychological evaluations.
Similarly, he disclosed that on Monday, July 14, police operatives from Nteje Division, while responding to a distress call of attempted attack by two armed suspects, engaged the assailants in a gun battle, during which the operatives neutralised the hoodlums and recovered the pump-action gun, dagger, and other incriminating items from them.
While assuring that efforts are ongoing to track down and apprehend other fleeing members of the criminal syndicates, SP Ikenga reiterated the commitment of the Anambra State Police Command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, to continue working round the clock to ensure the safety and security of all residents and visitors to the state.
