A combined team of security operatives in Anambra State has apprehended four men who often issue threats to communities and threaten to abduct residents if they fail to pay ransom.
Spokesman for the state police command, Mr Tochukwu Ikenga, revealed this in a statement in Awka on Friday.
He said the suspects often issued threats to residents of communities in Ihiala Local Government Area of the state.
Ikenga named the suspects as Messrs Chimezie Ezebuo, Chinaza Ndimani, Chinecherem Okafor and Nzube Azubuike – all indigenes of Okohia, a community in Ihiala Council Area.
He said the joint security team arrested the suspects on Thursday following a “painstaking investigation” after a tip-off about their activities in the state.
He said all the suspects had confessed to the crime and were taken into custody for further interrogations.
“The operatives recovered phones and SIM cards used by the suspects to threaten their victims, thereby causing panic in the area and jeopardising the efforts of the security agencies and the general security of the state,” Mr Ikenga stated.
Ikenga said the police command was committed to maintaining public safety and ensuring that individuals were held accountable for actions inciting fear or disturbing public peace.
He added that the command observed that security had improved in the Ihiala Council Area.
He thanked the residents of the area for their assistance in identifying “bad elements” in the council area.
