REPORTER: OKECHUKWU EZEONA
Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has vowed that criminals will not be allowed to operate freely in the state, warning that anyone who commits crime in Enugu will be tracked down and brought to justice. The Governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, stated this during the parade of suspected kidnappers at the Department of State Services, DSS headquarters in GRA Enugu.
The assurance followed the successful operation by security forces, which led to the arrest of three suspects allegedly involved in the August second, twenty twenty-six, kidnapping attack at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Inoyi-Affa, in Udi Local Government Area. One of the suspects was reportedly neutralised during a gun duel, while the remaining two were apprehended and the three victims of the attack, including Seminarian Lawrence Igbo and Mr Emmanuel Onwudi, were released.
Dr. Mbah announced that ransom paid to the kidnappers as part of the strategy to secure the victims was fully recovered. He said that the security forces also recovered four AK-47 rifles, seven magazines and one hundred and thirty-three rounds of ammunition from the hideouts of the criminal syndicate, with the operation aided by the state’s hi-tech security assets.
The Governor pointed out that the released victims had identified the arrested suspects as their abductors, assuring residents that his administration would continue to invest in and strengthen the state’s security architecture to protect lives and property. He also warned residents who provide information or other forms of support to criminal elements that they would be tracked down and prosecuted alongside the perpetrators.
Cue in…kidnap suspects arrest two.
Cue out…
Dr. Mbah commended the DSS, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, Enugu State Forest Guard and other security agencies for their cooperation and gallantry in the operation. He stressed that although criminals may run after committing offences, they cannot hide for long, declaring that Enugu State would remain an uncomfortable environment for anyone who chooses criminality as a business.
