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Police detain four cops, begin investigation into alleged kidnapping of Rivers hotel worker
This was as the command has paraded 12 suspected armed robbers, kidnappers and cultists for their involvement in different criminal activities at different parts of the state.
It was gathered that some policemen on patrol had intercepted one Darlington Bieh, who hails from Taabaa in Khana Local Government Area of the state, around Choba in Obio/Akpor LGA and taken him to an unknown destination and demanded the said amount of money.
It was learnt that the policemen had apprehended their victim around 8pm on Saturday on his way to work and searched his bags, pockets including his phone, but did not see anything incriminating.
A source, who hinted newsmen of the development, said the police while scrolling through their victim’s phone had seen pictures and found out that the young man works in a big hotel around the area.
The source said the police men had told the victim to call his family to send N1 million for his bail out, threatening to kill and throw his corpse into Choba river should his family fail.
The source also claimed that the policemen took their victim to Aluu in Ikwerre LGA, while awaiting the payment from his family.
However, the victim had instead of calling his father had called his boss, the owner of the hotel where he (victim) works and that his boss in turn called a DPO in the area who pretended to be the victim’s father to discuss with the criminal officers.
The source further revealed that the criminal minded officers negotiated the amount of money with the DPO through the boy’s phone believing he was the young man’s father.
But at about 1:00am on Sunday, the DPO who pretended to be the young man’s father took his men and met them and the Rogue cops at an agreed area in Aluu, disarmed them and arrested all of them.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Disu Olatunji, in his maiden press briefing in Port Harcourt on the achievement of Police within last month said some officers have been arrested on the said allegation, but that no official complaint has been raised against them.
He said: “I have read something like that on the social media over the weekend, I have not gotten any official complaint about it. Despite that, I went to town with my officers and I want to tell you that officers who had contact with that victim have been arrested.
“They have been arrested. So, I am waiting for complaint from the victim, so that I will know what and what to look out for. The officers are there in the custody, we are not hiding anything. When the complaint comes, we will give you details of what we have done.
“If I don’t get complaint from members of the public on this, I will believe everything is okay. All of us are in this together,” he stated.
Speaking on the arrest of the 12 criminals, Olatunji, noted that two cult leaders from Kereken Community in Khana LGA were arrested after they kidnapped the Community Development Committee Chairman of the Community, collected N200, 000 ransom and still buried their victim alive.
He said: “On the day of resumption, I had before me a security deficit in many areas of Rivers State. One of those areas was Khana Local Government, and we immediately deployed tactical units to quell the situation. Gentlemen of the press, after concluding intense surveillance on 15th November, in separate crack operations, men of the Anti-Cultism Unit arrested Baridapdo Igia, 33yrs and Elvis Gordon, 26yrs two suspected Armed robbers and kidnappers in Kereken-Boue community of Khana Local Government Area.
“After a series of interrogations, the duo confessed to being leaders of Iceland and Degbam cult groups in Khana Local Government Area, respectively and have been terrorising Khana Local Government Area for the past three years.
“These cult groups have been known to have endless clashes in the community. During interrogations, they also admitted to kidnapping and burying alive one Praise Daakian, a former CDC Chairman in Khana Local Government Area. They murdered the victim after collecting the sum of NGN200,000 as part of payment for his ransom from the victim’s wife,” he said.
He noted that all the suspects would be charged to court for prosecution upon completion of investigation.
Arrests 13 officers for indecent dressing
However, the Commissioner of Police in the State, Disu revealed that the command on Friday December 1st, arrested 13 officers over indecent dressing.
The CP gave the assurance in a radio programme organized by the Force Public Relations department in Abuja which was monitored in Port Harcourt on Saturday December 2,2023 by our reporter.
Disu, who disclosed that the officers were arrested during patrol by a monitoring unit in various part of the Port Harcourt noted that the arrest is part of an ongoing effort to eradicate indecent dressing by officers of the command.
He also revealed that the head of the Units or Divisions where the arrested Police officers are serving would be vicariously liable too, for the personnel action, noting that the arrested officers are in detention.
Meantime, the Rivers State Police Command has not commented the arrest of the policemen involved in the alleged kidnap of the worker in a hotel. (Vanguard)
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has deployed no fewer than 2,527 personnel for the Enugu State Local Government Elections scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26.
The Commandant of NSCDC Enugu State Command, Dr Elijah Willie, told newsmen on Thursday in Enugu that those deployed included uniformed and plain cloth officers and men.
Willie noted that the Corps would strategical deploy seven vehicles for the Area Commanders, four additional van trucks, other vehicles for operational support staff for monitoring, while the commandant vehicular team would be on duty.
According to him, the command is ready for the council elections and we have been preparing ahead of time for it.
He said, “I have met the Corps management staff, Area Commanders, Divisional Corps Officers, head of special squad units and heads of departments on the election for sometime now.
“They have been briefed and oriented on their roles and responsibilities.
“We have developed an operational modules for the election, having received that of the police.
“The command will extend the same operational modules and its instructions down to officers and men in divisional areas and wards in order to ensure all officers and men work according to instruction.
“The command also directed officers and men to be firm carrying out their election duties while being civil and ensure due respect for human rights.”
He revealed that due to the council polls, the command and sister security agencies had been raiding criminal black spots and flashpoints in the state to ensure the state remained calm during the election.
The commandant urged residents to feel free and come out to exercise their franchise, while voting for the candidate of their choice without fear or favour.
“The NSCDC and other sister security agencies are assuring residents of a peaceful, violence-free and fair election as we are highly prepared to ensure a hitch-free and successful election.
“Miscreants are also warned to steer clear of the state and the election as there will be no room or space for them to operate.
“They should also be reminded that their activities are being tracked with statewide technology that will easily spot them out,” he said.
Willie noted that the NSCDC had also put in place other vintage security measures for the election, which might not be appropriate for the press.
It would be recalled that the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) had scheduled a statewide elections into the 17 Chairmanship and 260 Ward Councillorship positions in the state on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Security agencies in Enugu State have assured residents of the state of a peaceful, hitch-free and credible Local Government Election upcoming on Sept. 26.
Speaking on behalf of other security agencies after a security meeting on the elections on Thursday, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Mamman Giwa, said that the election security arrangement had been concluded.
Giwa noted that the security agencies had put in place firm and robust strategies to ensure a peaceful, hitch-free and credible election on Sept. 26.
He said that the security agencies had made robust plans to take care of flashpoints and ensure no miscreant do anything to violate electoral rules.
According to him, we have planned to give the residents of Enugu State a very successful and peaceful election that they will be proud of.
“We have put our heads together to come out with formidable strategies for the conduct of the election.
“Our officers and men from various security agencies will be everywhere to ensure safety for all residents and people come out to cast their vote without fear or favour.
“The security agencies have vowed to ensure peace before, during and after the election and respond swiftly to any perceived incident that will be a threat to the election,” he said.
The commissioner said that so far there had been no threat to the election, while the security agencies had deployed adequate intelligence to ensure any threat is taken care of proactively.
Giwa urged those who would want to protect their votes after going to the ballot to do it with civility and decorum, while respecting electoral rules.
Speaking, the Executive Chairman of Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), Prof. Christian Ngwu, said that ENSIEC was “very ready” for the election after “due and proper” arrangement.
Ngwu said that security agencies had assured residents adequate security with all their officers and men on ground before, during and after the election.
“They have assured the commission to deal decisively with any threat or persons that intend to cause trouble or create problem for election officials or electorate.
“We are anticipating a successful, hitch-free, transparent and credible election on Saturday.
“ENSIEC want eligible voters to come out en masse with their voters cards to cast their votes and elect their preferred candidates,” he said.
It would be recalled that ENSIEC had scheduled polls for the 17 Chairmanship and 260 Ward Councillorship positions in the state for Sept. 26.
The chairman also urged electorate to be free to defend their votes, adding,: “But you should not cause any trouble while doing that”.
The other security agencies that attended the meeting included: Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense (NSCDC) and Department of State Security (DSS).
The rest are: the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal and State Fire Service and the Forest Guard among others.
Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Governing Board of the South-South Development Commission, SSDC, Chibudom Nwuche, has urged the Federal Government to grant amnesty to repentant cultists and militant youths in the Orashi area of Rivers State who are willing to lay down their arms and embrace peaceful and productive lives.
Nwuche also called for the rehabilitation, reorientation and reintegration of such youths into society, saying the initiative would help restore peace and security to the troubled communities.
The Orashi area comprises Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Abua/Odual and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas of the state.
Nwuche made the appeal through his representative, Chief Kingdom Ajugo, at the commencement of the 2026 Upata Folklore, Ele, at Ula Upata, Ahoada East Local Government Area, on Tuesday.
He expressed concern over the deterioration of security in Ahoada and other parts of the Orashi region, saying the area had witnessed killings and various forms of criminality.
He recalled the gruesome killing of the then Divisional Police Officer, DPO, late CSP Bako Amgbashim, whom he described as a dedicated, intelligent and gallant police officer.
According to him, several appeals have been made to Rivers State government for an amnesty programme for repentant youths in the area, with no action taken.
Nwuche, therefore, appealed to the federal government, particularly the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, headed by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to consider an amnesty programme for repentant cultists and violent youths.
He said the programme should include proper rehabilitation, reorientation and reintegration measures to enable beneficiaries become productive members of society.
He also appealed to youths still involved in cultism, kidnapping, robbery and other criminal activities to abandon violence and embrace legitimate livelihoods.
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“Those who are still carrying guns and killing our people indiscriminately should stop and accept amnesty and be ready to be reintegrated into society,” he said.
Nwuche said the predominantly farming and trading Ekpeye people should be able to carry out their legitimate businesses without molestation, harassment or fear.
He said hundreds of Ekpeye people had lost their lives to cultism and related violence over the years, declaring that the situation must end.
He urged traditional rulers, community leaders, government and the people to work together to restore peace, insisting that Ekpeye land could no longer be allowed to become a haven for criminals.
Urges Ekpeye unity
Nwuche also urged Ekpeye traditional rulers to provide exemplary leadership and work together to advance the interests of the people.
He appealed to the people of Upata to support their monarch, Eze (Dr.) Felix E. Otuwarikpo, Eze Igbu Upata III, and preserve the cultu ral heritage of the kingdom.
He described the annual Upata Folklore as an important platform for promoting unity, culture and hospitality among the people.
The monarch had earlier declared the 2026 celebration open, describing it as an enduring tradition through which the people celebrate their culture and heritage following the harvest season.
Use your votes wisely in 2027
On politics, Nwuche urged the people of Ekpeye to vote wisely in the 2027 general elections, saying they should support politicians who had demonstrated commitment to the development of the area.
“We have seen and known all those seeking our votes, and I will therefore urge you not to waste your votes but to support those who have shown attention and developed Ekpeye land,” he said.
Nwuche also spoke in support of President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid and the political platform associated with FCT Minister and former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.
He said he would, at the appropriate time, tour Ekpeye and the wider Orashi region to mobilise support for the political coalition led by Wike.
He recalled projects executed during Wike’s tenure as Rivers State governor, saying they remained significant to the development of Ekpeye land.
The event attracted traditional rulers, chiefs, community leaders, women and youth groups, students and representatives of Ahoada East and Ahoada West local governments. It featured cultural displays, traditional dances, goodwill messages and presentation of gifts to the monarch, chiefs and participants.
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