A couple, Mr. Okoye Kingsley and his wife, Mrs. Chidinma Okoye, from Ozubulu in the Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, have been arrested for allegedly attempting to kidnap a victim in the area.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the arrest in a statement issued on Friday in Awka.
According to Ikenga, the couple, aged 36 and 27 respectively, were apprehended by a joint security team in the state.
He stated, “The Anambra State Police Command is aware and already investigating a related recent trending voice note of a security report on how a victim escaped abduction by an alleged security operative.”
The couple, who specialize in sending threatening messages to individuals and demanding ransoms or threatening abductions, were caught following a coordinated operation.
“Given reports of text messages and voice notes received by unsuspecting members of the public on threats of abduction and kidnapping, the Joint Security Force comprising the Police and AVG, acting on technology-driven information in the early hours of today, 29/11/2024, arrested a couple, one Mr. Okoye Kingsley, aged 36 years, and Mrs. Chidinma Okoye, aged 27 years, respectively, in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State. Phones and SIM cards were recovered,” the statement read.
The couple confessed to the crime and admitted to destroying some of the SIM cards they had used in previous abductions.
In response to the arrest, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, directed that the case be immediately transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping/Robbery Squad for further investigation. “The accused persons will be charged in court upon the conclusion of the investigation,” the statement added.
Additionally, the Police Command is investigating a separate voice note that reported how a victim escaped abduction by an alleged security operative. Ikenga assured that the police were taking the matter seriously, activating intelligence tools to uncover the suspects and prevent any further incidents.
“The Command did not take the information for granted. Hence, it activated all the necessary intelligence tools to unmask the suspects and nip the issue in the bud to avoid reoccurrence,” he stated.
