The police in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, said they had rescued three kidnap victims in Okija, a community in Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.
The spokesperson of the police in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
‘How they were rescued’
Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said police operatives from Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Awkuzu rescued the victims on Friday when the operatives raided the home of Onyeka Aduba, leader of the gang that kidnapped the victims.
The police spokesperson explained that the operation followed the confession by Mr Aduba, the gang leader, who was earlier arrested by police operatives from the RRS Unit.
The gang leader, popularly known as Totoritor, was identified on 6 July by a victim with a gunshot injury before he was arrested, according to the police.
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Mr Ikenga said, apart from Mr Aduba, two other suspects were arrested by the police during the raid on Friday.
The police spokesperson gave the names of the suspects as Chukwujekwu, 31, and Sylvester Okorie, 55 – all males.
Investigation revealed that the victims had been kept incommunicado and chained to pillars in the compound for weeks before their rescue, Mr Ikenga said.
The police were making efforts to arrest the other fleeing members of the gang, he added.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Aderemi Adeoyi, has urged residents of the state to disregard propaganda against the police in the state by some outlawed groups, Mr Ikenga said.
Mr Adeoyi appealed to the residents to continue to support the police and other security agencies in fighting crimes in the state.
The police commissioner also urged them to report to the police any suspicious persons and unusual movements observed around their neighbourhood.
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