The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested four individuals who attempted to kidnap a victim and demand a ransom of N150 million. The suspects, who claimed to be Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives, were paraded alongside other criminals at a press conference yesterday.
The Commissioner of Police, Waheed Ayilara, revealed that the principal suspect, Emmanuel Augustine Akpayak, owed his would-be victim over N12 million and had planned to kidnap and kill him to evade repayment of the debt. The suspect had arranged for armed men to pose as EFCC officials and extort N150 million from the victim.
However, the police foiled the plan and recovered four pairs of EFCC vests from the suspect’s house. The principal suspect claimed that his business associate had hired “boys” to issue threats to him, and he responded by obtaining EFCC vests from an online vendor to pose as officials and arrest his associate.
In another development, the police paraded suspected advance fee fraudsters who have been swindling POS operators in Uyo and its surroundings. The suspects, including Donald Ita Nyong, Rex Clement Uso, and Kingsley Mathias Joekim, allegedly pretended to make withdrawals of N10,000 from a POS machine before stealing N320,000.
The police also arrested child trafficking syndicates, including Michael Emmanuel Edet, Ability Henry Tom, and Uwem Udoh Moses, who stole a 12-year-old boy while he was hawking groundnuts along Oron Road. The boy was sold for N400,000 to one Loveth Nkwankwo in Abia State.
The police rescued the boy and arrested Loveth Nkwankwo, who confessed to the crime. The police also urged the public to provide useful information that would help in the eradication of crime and criminal elements in the state.
The Commissioner of Police thanked Governor Umo Eno for his support to the police and assured that all suspects would be charged to court at the end of investigations.
Join our Channel...