By Omolara Akintoye
Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, Mohammad Mustapha
The Rivers State Police Command has apprehended three notorious kidnap suspects, Blessing Akpelu, Precious Ebee, and Wisdom Amadi following a series of highway robbery and kidnappings along the Port Harcourt-Owerri Expressway.
Briefing Newsmen at the Command’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, Commissioner of Police, Mohammad Mustapha said the arrest came as part of an intensified crackdown on criminal activities along the route, which had been a hotspot for violent attacks on motorists.
”Blessing Akpelu alias NTA ‘m’ 20 years old, Precious Ebee ‘m’ 30 years old, and Wisdom Amadi ‘m’ 28 years old, all natives of Egbeda in Emohua LGA are known for orchestrating roadblocks to trap unsuspecting travellers and have been under police surveillance after an alarming spike in kidnappings, including the abduction of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member and two others along the Elele/Omerelu axis of the expressway”. He noted
In the words of CP Mustapha, Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang would frequently set up illegal roadblocks at strategic points along the expressway before attacking motorists at gunpoint and taking hostages for ransom.
According to CP Mustapha, the first two suspects were arrested on the 17th of October 2024 by men of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Rivers State Police Command while the third suspect, Wisdom Amadi, who was identified as the gang leader was arrested at Egbeda on the 19th of October 2024.
The commissioner added that investigations are ongoing to arrest their remaining accomplices and retrieve their operational weapons as well as to uncover the full extent of their criminal network.
