The three victims were reportedly held inside a thick forest in the community before the police, acting on a tip-off, stormed the forest and arrested two of the suspects, and gunned down two others during a gun battle with the hoodlums.
In another case, a man in Awgu, Enugu state was kidnapped and taken to Ikwo in Ebonyi state where the kidnappers collected one million naira ransom.
After collecting N1million ramson from the victim,the suspects gave the man N5,000 from the money to transport himself back to his base in Enugu.
Luck however ran out of them when police got wind of their criminal act, and stormed Ikwo ,but upon sighting the police the suspects abandoned the man’s vehicle which they kidnapped him with and the N1million they collected from him and fled.
But one of them was arrested the following day by youths of the community when he missed his way in the area.
The nabbed suspect,Raphaele Nworie, who said he is from Nkanu East in Enugu state told reporters that one of their gang members from Ikwo convinced them to bring the man to Ikwo.
Nworie said” we kidnapped the man in Awgu, Enugu state on 24th July and brought him to Ikwo, Ebonyi state.
“The man gave us N1million cash as ransom and the money is in the man’s vehicle we kidnapped him with . We abandoned the money inside the vehicle and fled when police came. I have been in this business for only two weeks. And this is the first time we are kidnapping somebody.
“When we dropped him in Ikwo, we gave him N5,000 and water. The man’s name is Obasi Chigozie. We forced the man to give us his ATM pin number and he released it to us. We then went to POS and withdrew the N1million.
“I am I taxi driver and it is one of my friends that introduced me into this business of kidnapping. He told me to join the business that I will be making more money”.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Loveth Odah, while parading the suspects on Saturday said Obasi Chigozie who became sick following the incident has reunited with his family.
She disclosed that efforts were on to rescue the girl that is being held hostage in a forest in Ezzagu.
