By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu
Enugu State Police Command said it arrested 5,176 suspects for various offences in the last six months.
The Commissioner of Police (CP), Mamman Bitrus Giwa, who disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday, said that the achievements were as a result of what he described as “proactive policing” adopted by the Command.
Giwa, who was reviewing the Command’s crime fighting efforts within the period, said that “our proactive approach has yielded impressive results in combating serious crimes across the state. Within the six months review period, we arrested 5,176 suspects for various offences.”
The police boss stated that, “over the past six months, we have adopted proactive policing as the main thrust of our crime fighting strategy. While a few incidents may have occurred beyond our control, we have consistently responded with swift and effective remedial actions.”
Giwa revealed that 98 persons were involved in armed robbery; 87 for kidnapping; 50, murder cases, while 16 were arrested for being in possession of unlawful arms and ammunition, while there were 11 rape and defilement cases with 122 suspects involved in cultism-related cases.
The Police Commissioner further disclosed that 113 kidnapped victims were rescued, 105 firearms and ammunition recovered as well as 71 vehicles, most of them exotic cars.
Relishing the achievements by the Command, Giwa pointed out the case of the millionaire native doctor, Obieze Levi and his accomplices, and the two sisters that arranged the kidnap of their kinsman and demanded N10,000,000 ransom, as specific examples of the Command’s diligence.
“Among the most notable cases was the recent arrest of an 18-year Obodoagu Ikediekpere and another individual for the kidnapping and murder of his five-year old second cousin.
“In another widely publicized case, the suspect Obieze Levi, alias ‘E Dey Play E Dey Show,’ was arrested alongside two accomplices and charged with kidnapping and ritual murder.
“Additionally, two sisters, Juliet Chukwu and Ngozi Nancy Chukwu were apprehended, arraigned in court and remanded for kidnapping and collecting a ransom of N10,000.000 from their kinsman,” he said.
While acknowledging his men for their proactiveness in crime fighting, the CP, however, thanked sister security agencies whose efforts helped in tackling the crimes as well as State Governor Peter Mbah who,he noted, made their crime fight easier with the Control and Command Security Centre he set up to track criminals in the state.
PHOTO CAPTION: Giwa (left hand pointing) shows some of the vehicles recovered from suspected criminals.
