How men posing as kidnappers issued abduction threats to get ransom

Combined security operatives have arrested three men who often posed as kidnappers and threatened to abduct residents if they failed to pay ransom.

The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, said in a statement on Friday that the suspects often issued threats to residents of communities in Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.

Ihiala is among the local government areas that were worst hit by growing insecurity in Anambra State.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, identified the arrested suspects as Chimezie Ezebuo, Chinaza Ndimani, Chinecherem Okafor and Nzube Azubuike – all indigenes of Okohia, a community in Ihiala Council Area.

The spokesperson said the joint security team arrested the suspects on Thursday following a “painstaking investigation” after a tip-off about their activities in the state.

He said all the suspects had confessed to the crime and were taken into custody for further interrogations.

“The operatives recovered phones and SIM cards used by the suspects to threaten their victims, thereby causing panic in the area and jeopardising the efforts of the security agencies and the general security of the state,” Mr Ikenga stated.

The spokesperson said the police command was committed to maintaining public safety and ensuring that individuals were held accountable for actions inciting fear or disturbing public peace.

Mr Ikenga added that the command observed that security had improved in the Ihiala Council Area.

He applauded residents of the area for their assistance in identifying “bad elements” in the council area.

Not the first time

This is not the first time the police in Anambra State would arrest suspects who allegedly threatened to abduct people for ransom.

In December 2024, the police in the state arrested a 32-year-old man who allegedly threatened to abduct an unidentified person if the victim failed to pay N1.2 million ransom.

The suspect, Chukwuma Obi, was said to have posed as a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) while asking the victim to pay the money into his bank account or be abducted.

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IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south

The separatist group has been linked to the growing attacks in the two regions, although it has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.