Spiritualist, 11 Suspected Kidnappers Arrested In Benue
A spiritualist and 11 suspected kidnappers have been arrested in Benue State for a series of abduction cases in the North-Central state.
Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Catherine Anene disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Makurdi, the state capital.
She identified the spiritualist as Mohammed Omachoko, who allegedly supplied charms for kidnappers, adding that the suspects were involved in kidnap of the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Ekpe Ogbu, last year.
Anene stated that the Commissioner of Police, Wale Abass, had ordered the deployment of tactical teams to the southern part of the state to nab kidnap syndicates grouping in the area.
“As a result of this deployment, men of Operation Zenda Joint Task Force, (JTF) trailed and arrested the following persons in connection with the case of Kidnap that happened on 4/12/2022 involving the Commissioner for Housing/ Urban Development, Hon. Anthony Ogbu and other kidnap incidents reported in the area,” the statement read.
“They include one Mohammed Usman Omachoko, who specialized in preparing protection charms for kidnappers, David Ejembi, Aondongu Akighir a k a “Too Proud” and Teryima Peter.”
It was gathered that the two suspects were arrested while on their way to purchase guns for the group.
The police spokesperson added that further investigation also led to the arrest of nine other gang members.
Items recovered from the suspects include two locally made Baretta pistol loaded with 10 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
According to Anene, the CP urged the Benue public to provide useful information to the police to enable them fish out hoodlums within their communities assuring that the operations will make room for hitch-free 2023 general elections.
