Rivers State Police command has said that its operatives from C4i Intelligent Unit have killed a kidnap suspect in an attempt to escape from arrest.
A statement on Thursday by the spokesperson of the command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko said the suspect was member of a gang who kidnapped a 13 year old girl at Umuebule, in Etche Local Government Area.
“On June 7, 2025, at about 0930hrs, the Rivers State Police Command received credible intelligence regarding a Thirteen-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. The suspect had allegedly claimed that her phone was robbed on June 5, 2025.
“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”, the statement explained.
According to the statement items recovered from the suspect were,one locally made Pistol and one live Cartridge.
The statement further said that 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”, it stressed.
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The statement said the suspect was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) for medical treatment, but was pronounced dead by the Medical Doctor on duty.
It added that the corpse of the deceased suspect has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.
According to the police,the victim was debriefed and has been reunited with her family, adding that investigation is ongoing, with efforts underway to apprehend other members of the syndicate and recover their operational weapons.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga commended the operatives for their bravery and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ensuring safety and security of all citizens.
“He 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”, it concluded.
