Following coordinated and intelligence-driven operations carried out in Enugu and Ogun States, the police have neutralised three armed suspects, rescued four kidnapped victims, arrested others, and recovered ransom money, firearms, and other incriminating exhibits.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi in a statement issued Sunday said in Enugu State, on July 16, 2025, at about 3:00 p.m., police operatives working in synergy with local security outfits, responded swiftly to a distress call from the Okpuje-Ani community in Nsukka LGA, reporting sighting of armed kidnappers in a forest area.
He explained that upon engaging the operatives, one of the armed suspects was neutralised while others escaped into the bush with various degrees of gunshot injuries.
Adejobi said recovered at the scene was an AK-47 rifle loaded with two live rounds of ammunition.
He noted: “That same day, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad arrested one Aliyu Adamu, aged 23, along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, following credible intelligence.
“The suspect, upon interrogation, confessed to participating in several abductions and admitted to being invited from Awka, Anambra State, to carry out criminal operations in Enugu.
“In a related development, on July 15, 2025, at about 2:20 p.m., two female suspects, Juliet Chukwu (aged 39) and Nancy Chukwu (aged 40), were arrested by the Command’s operatives.
“They were apprehended during the sharing of a ₦10 million ransom collected from their kinsman, whom they had conspired to kidnap after initially demanding ₦50 million.”
Adejobi added that the male victim was safely rescued unharmed, while their operational Toyota Corolla vehicle and the said ransom were recovered.
Meanwhile, in Ogun State, Adejobi revealed that a reported kidnapping incident involving three persons around the Ajebo axis under Owode Egba Division on July 16, 2025, triggered a swift deployment of tactical teams.
He said: “Today, at about 04:00 am, the Anti-Kidnapping team with the aid of technology, identified the location of the kidnappers, engaged them in a shootout along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, during which two suspects were neutralised in the ensuing gun battle and successfully rescued all three kidnapped victims unhurt.”
Adejobi added that items recovered from the operation include: One AK-47 rifle, 139 rounds of ammunition, one magazine, one cutlass, a chain and padlock, the sum of ₦1,235,000, suspected to be part of the ransom, and several mobile phones used for negotiations.