Police arrest six suspects terrorising Anambra community
OPERATIVES of Anambra State Police Command have arrested six suspected members of a notorious criminal gang terrorising the Eziowelle community and its environs for a long time.
Spokesperson for the Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the arrest, said several weapons were recovered from the gang, including three English pump- action rifles and other dangerous weapons they used for their operations.
The Guardian learnt that the gang was alleged to be using an illegal vigilante group to kidnap, rob, intimidate and harass people in the community.
They have also been accused of breaking into homes of prominent individuals in the community, stealing their properties, sexually assaulting female members of their families and kidnapping others, who are later forced to pay huge sums of money as ransom.
A police source said a prominent man in the area, who claims to be a pastor, was also controlling his own gang that has been indulging in criminal acts in Eziowelle for a long time with the support of some leaders of the community. These leaders claimed to have contacts with security agencies in both Anambra State and Abuja that would protect them. According to the source, “the gang has made the town unsafe that many indigenes, both in Nigeria and abroad had to flee their homes for fear of being kidnapped and forced to pay ransom under the guise of being a vigilante group. Some victims have not only been abducted at midnight, but taken to offices of some security agencies where they were tortured, harassed, and intimidated into parting with huge sums of money to buy their freedom.”
Confirming the development, the police spokesperson, said the suspects were apprehended following reports about their criminal activities in the area, which the state ‘ s Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng, received.