In Rivers, Police Rescue 13-Year Old Kidnap Victim, Neutralise Suspected Kidnappers
•By Admin
PORT HARCOURT – The Rivers State Police command has neutralized a suspected kidnapper who attempted to evade arrest.
The suspect was killed by a bullet during a crossfire between the police and kidnapers at their hideout in a forest at Umuechem Community, Etche Local Government Area.
This was as a kidnap investigation of a 13-Year old female Victim led operatives of the police to the kidnappers’ den, where the hoodlums opened fire on the police.
A press statement by the Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Grace Iringe-Koko on Thursday disclosed that the operatives at the wake of the shootout, recovered one locally made pistol, one live cartridge.
The statement which stated that the suspected kidnapper was declared dead at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, where he was rushed to for medical attention.
“Further investigation on June 10, 2025 at about 1600hrs culminated in the arrest of the principal suspect, Chizoba Andrew Obi, a 36-year-old male suspect and the kidnapped victim was rescued unhurt in a fenced forest at Umuechem Community, Etche Local Government Area.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a serial kidnapping kingpin operating with a four-man gang.
“As Police operatives were led by the suspect to the forest to recover their operational weapons, the gang members on sighting the Police Operatives opened fire, prompting a shootout between the Police and kidnappers.
“The arrested suspect attempted to flee but was caught in the crossfire and was neutralized, sustaining bullet wounds, while other members of the gang escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.
“He was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) for medical treatment, but was pronounced dead by the Medical Doctor on duty. The corpse of the deceased suspect has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.”
Earlier, operatives of the C4i Intelligence unit attached to the state police command rescued the 13 year old kidnapped victim who was kidnapped on June 5, 2025, while on an errand for her mother in Umuebule community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The victim’s rescue followed the arrest of the principal suspect, a 36-year-old Mr Chizoba Andrew Obi.
According to the SP Iringe-Koko, the Police swung into action after the victim’s mother received a phone call from the he abductors demanding a ransom of two million Naira and threatening to kill the victim if their demand was not met.
Iringe-Koko said, “On June 7, 2025, at about 0930hrs, the Rivers State Police Command received credible intelligence regarding a 13-year-old girl who went missing on June 5, 2025 at about 1530hrs, while running an errand for her mother in Umuebule community, Etche Local Government Area.
“The victim’s mother subsequently received ransom demands of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) via phone calls threatening that the daughter will be killed if the demand was not met.
“Operatives from the C4i Intelligence unit promptly swung into action, arresting a 24-year-old female suspect from Igbo-Etche, suspected to be the subscriber of the SIM cards linked to the ransom demands.”
Iringe-Koko echoed the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga A. Adepoju’s applaudes at the operatives for their bravery and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ensuring safety and security of all citizens.
Adepoju further noted that efforts will be sustained to bring to justice all perpetrators of crime and criminality in the State, while urging the public to be vigilant and promptly report any suspicious individual(s) with gunshot wounds to the nearest Police Station or other Security agencies.
•INDEPENDENTNG.