Police raid kidnappers’ den in Onitsha, arrest two

    
The Anambra State Special Anti-Robbery Squad, an arm of the police on Wednesday raided a kidnappers’ hideout at the GRA area of Onitsha and arrested a man and a woman.

A source however said one of the occupants of the hideout escaped during the raid. The raid had been made shortly after a kidnap victim was said to have escaped from the hideout and reported to the police.

The yet-to-be identified victim was said to have been abducted in Abagana, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state, late last week and brought into the hideout at Justice Onwuamaegbu Close, GRA and kept incommunicado for a ransom negotiation.

It was said that the kidnappers and the victim’s relations had settled for a ransom of N3 million when the victim escaped.

Three suspects, a male and two females, were said to have been using the vacant building for the past two years, right under the nose of the neighbourhood watch.

A vacancy notice by a lawyer was even placed on the building: “To Let. Contact me on certain phone number”. But the kidnappers allegedly mutilated the first and last numbers in the lawyer’s phone number, so that callers would find it difficult to get the correct number of the lawyer.

The game was said to have ended for the kidnappers when the male suspect who incidentally is an official of GRA Unit of commercial motorcycle union was going out and instructed the female suspect to keep an eye on the victim.

It was gathered that as soon as Ugochukwu went out, the victim requested the female suspect to get him water to drink.

By the time she returned with water, the victim had cleverly untied the rope on his hands, removed the handcuff on his legs and attacked her, knocking her out completely before scaling the wall to escape.

Not long after, the victim returned to the hideout with SARS operatives and arrested the male and female suspects, while the second female suspect was nowhere to be found.

Popular transporter, who lives in the neighbourhood, Chief Godwin Okeke, of GUO Transport Limited, expressed shock that he had been living in the same Onwuamaegbu Crescent with the dangerous kidnappers. He had himself been kidnapped five years ago.

Okeke said the owner of the compound who lives abroad had probably kept the male suspect to look after the compound, pending when the property would be rented out.

The police however burnt the entire property found in the service quarters of the building, which the kidnappers had been using.

The Chairman of GRA Unit of Commercial Motorcycle Union, Samuel Chukwu, expressed surprise that their official could be linked to the act of kidnapping.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, confirmed the arrests, adding that the outcome of the on-going police investigations would determine the next line of action.