Poised to curb the pervasive kidnap incidents around the Oyigbo/Igbo-Etche corridor, the Nigeria Police Force says it has raided a notorious hideout in the area and killed two suspected kidnap kingpins.

Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, said operatives of the C4i Tactical Squad of the State Police Command carried out the raid in the early hours of Friday, May 20, 2023.

Several unsuspecting travelers and commuters in Port Harcourt, especially women have met their untimely death in the hands of hoodlums who disguised as taxi drivers or commercial transporters only to abduct and take their victims to their hideout inside Igbo-Etche.

Iringe-Koko said the Police operatives acted based on actionable intelligence gathered on the kidnapping gang.

According to her, “upon sighting the Police team, the hoodlums opened fire on them”.

“During the gun duel that lasted for about an hour, the gang leader, who was later identified as Aka Blacky, was fatally wounded. Another suspect identified as Peter Nwafor ‘m’ was shot while trying to escape.”

The Rivers Police spokesperson informed that the two suspects were taken to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) where they were confirmed dead by doctors on duty, adding that their corpses have been deposited at the UPTH Mortuary.

The statement further disclosed that the gang was linked to the kidnap of a woman and her daughter on Saturday, March 18, 2023 along Garrison Junction in Port Harcourt, revealing that two members of the gang had earlier been arrested.

SP Grace Iringe-Koko further informed that exhibits recovered at the scene of the raid include 1 AK 47 rifle and 18 live ammunitions.

She advised residents of the state to remain law-abiding, vigilant and supportive to the security and law enforcement agencies by promptly reporting acts of crime and criminality to the nearest police station, pointing out that they can do this by calling the command’s emergency hotlines on 08032003514 and 08098880134.