The Rivers State Police Command goes on the offensive as it arrests child traffickers, one-chance robbery syndicate, cultist, kidnappers and police imposter
Jude Nzennaya Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Police Command on Monday paraded three suspects of child trafficking syndicates, rescue a-year-old male victim.
The suspects were arrested on August 25, 2024, at about 6:35 a.m, by operatives from the Ubima Divisional Headquarters relying on a distress call from an informant.
According to the Public Relations Office SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the Rivers State Police command disclosed while parading suspects before newsmen at the Command Headquarters Mosco Road, the mother of the rescued infant, Queen Orlu, 20-years old, was found lying unconscious in Omeka Farmland at Ucheabuor community, Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state with multiple injuries and her intestines protruding from an injury on her stomach.
Koko reported that investigation revealed that a member of the syndicate identified as Polycarp Uzoma, from Akwa in Ohaji Local Government Area of Imo State, lured the lady into a bush path, where he attacked and left her for dead.
She noted that the suspect, Polycarp Uzoma after attacking the mother and injuring her, stole her baby and sold it to one Happiness Amadi at the sum of N1.4 million.
Koko added that another suspected member of the child trafficking syndicate, Chinyere Ordu, an auxiliary nurse, brokered the transaction and had received a part payment of N800,000 which has been recovered by the police including a bicycle as exhibits.
She added that the rescued baby boy had been reunited with his mother who was still receiving medical treatment at Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital, UPTH.
She said, “The suspects and exhibits are in police custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.
“This successful operation demonstrates the commitment of the Rivers State Police Command to combating child trafficking and ensuring the safety of vulnerable individuals.
The PPRO also announced that the Command also bursted a notorious one-chance robbery gang that had been terrorizing residents of Port Harcourt for the past two years.
They were apprehended by a Police team on patrol who spotted them while robbing their victim around Garrison flyover on September 4, 2024, at about 9pm.
According to the Spokesperson of the Rivers State command the one-chance gang usually leaves a single space in the commercial vehicle for their unsuspecting victim, who upon boarding the vehicle, they would threaten and waylay and dispossess of their valuables, leaving them stranded.
She said, “The operatives swiftly apprehended the suspects in their operational vehicle, a purple-coloured Volkswagen Golf 3, with registration number Rivers-ABU 738 LS.
“The suspects are identified as Thaddeus Sunday Ogu, 42, from Orlu Community in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State; Chinagorom Eze, 35, from Ekpiga Community in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State; Favour Yusuf, 30, from Plateau State were taken into custody. ”
She further explained that one of the suspects identified as Ogu attempted to evade arrest and opened fire on Police operatives and as a result, sustained bodily injuries and was rushed to the Police Clinic in Port Harcourt, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Iringe-Koko also stated that during interrogation, the One-Chance gang confessed to the crime and revealed their modus operandi.
“They would create a single passenger space in the front seat, while the gang members occupied the other spaces.
“They would then threaten and dispossess their victims of their valuables, pushing them out of the moving car. The stolen items would be sold to awaiting receivers, with the proceeds shared among the gang members.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspects include:Their operational Volkswagen Golf 3 car; One locally made pistol and one live cartridge, the suspects and exhibits are currently in Police custody as investigations continue.”
Speaking to newsmen, Chinagorom Eze, one of the one-chance suspects, who admitted to the crime, told newsmen that she had been arrested for the same crime in Delta State, and was consequently sentenced.
She said, “We did not use gun to operate, I have been doing this job for two years I have not used gun.
“How we operate is that there will be three passengers behind the car and one person in front so we wait for one unsuspecting passenger and when the person enters, one of them will feign distress to distract the passenger and while distracted, the rest will pick the passenger’s valuables and zoomed off.”
In a related development the Command disclosed that the command captured four gang members who participated in the Killing of the Community Development Council (CDC) Chairman of Mgbuoshimini, Chief Ndidi Livingstone on 13th January 2024 in front of his church, the Peculiar Faith Ministries, Rumueme were neutralized in a crossfire between the Police and members of their gang .
Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu in a press briefing on Thursday, 12 September, 2024 recalled that in the operation, four men stormed the church, dragged the victim out and murdered him, shooting him four times with AK-47 rifles, in the presence of his wife, son and congregants of the church.
There after the he Rivers Police Chief directed a team of Operatives of the FID-Intelligence Response Team and the Rivers State Command on a nationwide manhunt for the killers and the special team identified the four men in a viral video that captured the killing that including the mastermind of the assassination, Peter Daddy Chukwu who was hunted down to a hideout in Ibusa, Delta State on April 5, 2024. His attempt to resist arrest led to his death.
CP Disu stated that the unrelenting manhunt for the perpetrators seen shooting and murdering the deceased in the viral video has now led to the arrest of the three other persons directly responsible for the assassination and six more persons belonging to their criminal network.
CP gave the names of the arrested suspects and their profile as
- NNAMDI EMMANUEL ALIAS BYC ‘m’ 35 years from Onicha LGA, Ebonyi State. He shot the late Ndidi Livingstone in the foot on the day he was killed. Operatives recovered two AK-47 rifles, 141 rounds of live ammunition and 8 magazines from him.
- JOHN LUCAS ‘m’ 34 years from Logoro LGA, Bauchi State claimed to be a dismissed Lance Corporal from the Nigeria Army for desertion in 2014. Lucas was seen in the viral video taking the final shot that killed Chief Livingstone.
John Lucas also operated a gang that specialised in recruiting guns for hire for his criminal activities. Recovered from him are IEDs, numerous Military Uniforms, five Skyrun refrigerators and the Black Highlander vehicle used on the day Chief Livingstone was murdered.
- ADEBAYO ADEBAYO ‘m’ 48 years from Ado Ekiti LGA, Ekiti State claimed he was dismissed as a Seargent from the Nigeria Army in 2019. John Lucas recruited him to join in the assassination of Chief Livingstone. He was seen in the video wearing a special forces shirt.
After the Police declared a manhunt for him, he became a journeyman moving from one state to another seeking to evade arrest, but this did not deter the Police as he was traced to every state. Thinking that he had escaped the reach of the Police, he eventually settled down in Kwale, Delta State where he got employed as a Chief Security Officer (CSO) of a Waste Management Company. He was apprehended while on duty at his new place of work.
- CHIMEZIE ADIELE ‘m’ 29 years from Osisioma LGA, Abia State. He too claimed to be a dismissed Lance Corporal from the Nigerian Army. He was also recruited by John Lucas for the armed robbery operation where 56 Skyrun refrigerators were stolen. His share of the loot was four refrigerators.
- OGOLO PROMISE ‘m’ 25 years from Opobo/Nkoro LGA, Rivers State. He was a member of the deadly De-gbam cult group who rose through the ranks to become the group’s armourer. Recovered from him were two Assault Rifles and a pistol.
- CHIGEMEZU ANOCHIRIMOYANYA ‘m’ 29 years from Mbaitolu LGA, Imo State. He is a minibus driver who uses his vehicle to perpetuate kidnappings for various gangs.
- SUCCESS OGE ‘m’ 39 years from Umuahia LGA, Abia State. He was arrested for stealing Chigemezu’s vehicle. He has also been involved in various kidnappings and most of his gang members have been arrested.
- IFEANYI NWADIKE ‘m’ 30 years from Emuoha LGA Rivers. He was also remanded in Prison. He was involved in kidnapping/carjacking alongside Chigemezu in January 2024 where they snatched a red Toyota Camry in Oyigbo LGA. After he was arrested, an Assault rifle and 3 rounds of live ammunition were recovered from him.
- SUNDAY GODSPOWER ‘m’ 33 years alias 2baba, from Sii village in Khana LGA of Rivers State. He was a close associate of Peter Chukwu and was also identified as one of the killers of another traditional leader of Mgbuoshimini Chief Minikwu Chukwu, who was killed in broad daylight in 2017.
The Rivers Police Boss explained that during the investigation, four of the suspects, John Lucas ‘m’, Nnamdi Emmanuel, m ‘, Ogolo Promise ‘m’ and Adebayo Adebayo ‘m’ led Operatives to one of their camps at Pipeline, Aluu village for the recovery of their cache of weapons While approaching the camp, they came under heavy gunfire by hoodlums suspected to be fellow gang members.
CP Disu said the suspects attempted to escape in the ensuing ambush but were caught in the crossfire.
“The hoodlums were eventually overpowered, and the suspects rushed to UPTH for medical attention. The Doctor confirmed them dead, and they were deposited in the UPTH morgue for autopsy.
“The suspects will be charged in Court as soon as investigations are concluded.
Total arm and ammunition recovered include, 2 AK-47 rifles, 1 Assault rifle, 2 SMG rifles, 1 Shotgun riffle, 10 magazines, 150 rounds of live ammunition and 1 Pistol” CP Disu said.
He added that efforts are still in top gear to apprehend more suspects connected to Daddy Chukwu’s criminal network and possibly recover more arms & ammunition.
Similarly, the Command has arrested a 31-year-old man identified as Fred Monday, an impostor who posed as a police inspector.
Parading the suspect at the State Command by the Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Rilwan on Thursday, said Monday, a resident of the Port Harcourt, was found with an AK-47 rifle, ten magazines, and twenty-nine rounds of live ammunition.
Disu said the suspect confessed to purchasing the rifle and ammunition from an accomplice, Goodluck aka Boy-J, in 2021.
The CP explained that Monday was arrested while carrying out the arrest of the five cultists, fully dressed in Police camouflage and donning the rank of an Inspector of Police
The Police Boss explained that in a daring operation, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Police Command disrupted a cult initiation ritual in Luegbo Community, Khana Local Government Area, leading to the arrest of five students and an impostor police inspector.
The students, identified as Mduni Clement, Prosper Wonyingipreye, Kunle Joseph, Eken Evans, and Isaiah Elisha, all from Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, confessed to being members of the Vikings confraternity. They have been charged in court and are currently in a correctional center.
He said: “Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Rivers State Police Command responded to an intelligence report of a criminal operation in Luegbo Community in Khana Local Government Area.
“On arriving at the scene, the Police met with an ongoing gruesome Cult initiation process. Five suspects, later found to be students of the Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, were arrested.
“The students, Mduni Clement, Prosper Wonyingipreye, Kunle Joseph, Eken Evans and Isaiah Elisha confessed to being members of the Vikings confraternity. They have been charged in court and are presently in a correctional centre.
“While carrying out the arrest of the five cultists, the Police encountered a man with them, fully dressed in Police camouflage and donning the rank of an Inspector of Police.
“He was armed with an AK-47 rifle, ten magazines and twenty-nine rounds of live ammunition. He was taken into custody and after interrogations, his identity was revealed as Fred Monday, a 31-year-old from Wiyakara Community in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State and resident at F-man Close, Eneka Link Road, Port Harcourt.
“He confessed to being an impostor who bought the rifle in 2021 for NGN 850,000 from an accomplice, Goodluck aka Boy-J. He also bought ten magazines, thirty-one rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades from the same accomplice.
“He disclosed to the Police how he and other gang members would disguise as Policemen to escort criminals to operate in different states, including Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta and Rivers State.”
He said further investigation revealed that Monday and his gang members would disguise themselves as policemen to escort criminals across various states, including Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Delta, and Rivers. The Police Commissioner assured that efforts are being made to apprehend other members of Monday’s gang as the investigation continues.
