… Recover 5 AK-47 Riffles, 2 pump action rifles, ammunition

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested and paraded 14 kidnap suspects involved in various kidnap operations in and outside the state.

Briefing pressmen at the Command’s headquarters in Enugu on Friday, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, said among them were two remaining suspects linked to the August 2 kidnapping raid on St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Affa, Udi LGA of the state, who fled to Port Harcourt following the operational pressure mounted by joint security operatives.

“Further intelligence-led operations by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Violent Crime Response Unit (AK-VCRU) led to the arrest of two additional male suspects linked to the Affa Church kidnapping. Preliminary investigation reveals that, after fleeing Enugu, the suspects regrouped with their cohorts in Port Harcourt and abducted another victim, who was released after a ransom of ₦5m was paid,” he said.

CP Giwa noted that all the 14 suspects were arrested on various dates in June, July and August 2026 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Rivers, Kwara and Taraba States.

The suspects had also confessed to involvement in several recent and past kidnapping incidents along the Enugu–Ugwuogo–Opi–Nsukka Road, Obioma–9th Mile–Umulumgbe–Okpatu Road, Eke–Affa–Egede–Ezinze axis, and various locations in Ezeagu LGA.

“Specifically, preliminary investigation has linked the suspects to the following armed kidnapping incidents: the abduction of a male victim at Mgbabuowa/Aguobuowa, Ezeagu LGA, on 25th May, 2026, during which ₦5m was obtained as ransom; the abduction of two male victims and the shooting and murder of a female victim at Obioma, Udi LGA, on 9th May, 2026, during which the gang obtained $28,700 as ransom; the abduction of two male victims along the Eke–Ezinze Road, Udi LGA, on 10th April, 2026, for which $70,000 was obtained as ransom; and the kidnapping of seven victims at Obinaofia, Ezeagu LGA, on 12th April, 2026, during which ₦25m was obtained as ransom,” he explained.

The CP revealed that the suspects, who were members of an organised criminal network operating from different parts of the country, usually came into the state to plan and execute kidnapping operations before disappearing to their respective locations.

“The network is aided by an Enugu-based member who operates a tricycle and provides transportation for the gang members, their firearms and other criminal implements to and from operational locations. Another Enugu-based member provides intelligence that enables the gang to evade security surveillance and identify suitable targets and locations,” he added.

According to Giwa, investigation revealed that the suspects laundered and concealed proceeds of their criminal activities through investments in livestock and different properties, and engaged in lavish spending as well as leisure and trips to foreign nations such as Cameroon.

He said the Command was still conducting more investigations to establish the suspects’ involvement in other kidnapping and violent-crime incidents within and outside Enugu State, identify and arrest other members of the syndicate, and recover additional firearms, ammunition and other criminal proceeds.

“Upon conclusion of investigation, the suspects will be charged to court in accordance with extant laws'” he added.

The police command also displayed five AK-47 rifles, two pump-action guns, one locally fabricated firearm, 310 rounds of live 7.62 x 39mm ammunition, eight live cartridges, and seven empty AK-47 magazines recovered from the suspects.

CP Giwa credited the successes recorded by the Enugu Police Command to the availability of state-of-the-art security infrastructure, effectiveness of sustained intelligence gathering, ICT-enabled investigation, inter-agency collaboration, inter-state cooperation and coordinated operational policing adopted by the Command.

He commended Governor Peter Mbah and the Inspector General of Police for their leadership and support in ensuring security and order in Enugu State.

“I would also like to express my profound gratitude to Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for his for-looking leadership and for making the state safe.

“I equally commend other security agencies for their collaborative support, while also thanking members of the public for their continued cooperation,” he concluded.

The CP reiterated police’s readiness to make Enugu State increasingly unconducive to unrepentant local criminals, criminal elements seeking to infiltrate the State, commending Governor Peter Mbah and IGP Disu for their strategic leadership and support.

Meanwhile, one of the suspects, confessed his crime to newsmen, saying his gang operated along the stretch of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway and earned multimillion naira in ransoms before they were bursted by security forces.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has uncovered cases of ghost workers allegedly inserted into government payrolls, including an official who enrolled 14 members of his family and another who allegedly collected 13 salaries.

The ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award, organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited.

Aliyu said the commission’s investigation into ghost workers had exposed how individuals manipulated government payroll systems to receive multiple salaries.

He said, “We discovered that one person enrolled 14 members of his family. He lived in a religious hotel, a hotel at the public office, receiving salaries.”

The ICPC chairman added that another individual allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other family members and received 13 salaries.

“Another person enrolled his wife, his daughter, his son, and others and was receiving 13 salaries,” he said.

Aliyu said the commission had also identified about 900 suspected ghost workers and published their names, challenging them to prove that they were genuine employees.

“We now secured income of about 900 ghost workers, which we published their names in papers,” he said.

He explained that the commission subsequently spent about a year investigating the suspected ghost workers, uncovering the methods used to insert fictitious names into government payrolls.

“We spent one year, one single year, on ghost workers,” Aliyu said.

According to him, in some cases, the names of the alleged ghost workers appeared on official payrolls with email addresses, while the bank account details were linked to other individuals.

“When they insert their names, you will see their name in the payroll. You will see their email. But when you check the account number, you will see the name of the person. So, that is how these things have been done,” he explained.

Aliyu warned that the consequences of ghost workers extended beyond salaries, saying fraudulent entries could also result in ghost pensions, housing, health insurance and other benefits.

“Because, you know, once there is a ghost worker, there is ghost pension, there is ghost mortgage, there is ghost housing fund, there is ghost health insurance,” he said.

He said the commission’s intervention was aimed at protecting public resources and strengthening the economy, noting that fraudulent payroll practices imposed additional costs on the country.

The ICPC chairman also disclosed that the commission recovered more than N24bn in ghost pension funds in 2024.

“In 2024, we recovered over N24 billion ghost workers pension,” Aliyu said.

He said the commission had adopted cross-agency collaboration and other preventive measures to tackle corruption and recover government resources.

Aliyu stressed that the commission was increasingly focusing on preventing corruption and ensuring that government projects were properly executed rather than relying solely on criminal prosecution.

He said, “It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?”

The ICPC chairman said the commission had recovered or secured government resources through interventions in projects and other areas, stressing that the ultimate objective was to ensure that Nigerians benefited from public expenditure.

He also called for greater use of data and technology in combating corruption, saying effective communication and access to reliable information were essential to building public confidence in anti-corruption efforts.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of IMPR, Yusha’u Shuaib, said the lecture was organised to promote stronger governance through transparency, accountability and professional communication.

“We are honoured to host yet another gathering of leaders, professionals, scholars, and communication experts committed to strengthening governance, promoting transparency, and advancing excellence in public communication,” Shuaib said.