Meanwhile, the Imo State Police Command has arrested two serving Police Sergeants, Olu Hygenius and Collins Ibe and two others for the kidnap of a staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Amasike Ameleonye, in Okwelle, Onuimo Local Government Area.
The Sergeants until their arrest were attached to a former lawmaker, Hon. Robertson Ekwebelem, who represented Onuimo state constituency between 2007 and 2011.
They were arrested alongside two others, Timothy Chukwukere and Chidubem Anyia for the kidnap of Ameleonye.
Operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) nabbed the Sergeants at the premises of the Imo international Conference Centre in Owerri, the state capital.
A police source who pleaded anonymity said that they had been on the trail of the Sergeants since the kidnap of the NNPC official but could not strike for the safety of the victim, adding it was agreed that the family should pay the N5million ransom.
According to him, upon the release of Ameleonye to his family, the police commenced a manhunt for the kidnap gang using information technology gadgets.
He stated that when they were tracked down, the gang shot the police orderly attached to Ameleonye and also made away with his rifle.
One of the suspects, Chukwukere told The AUTHORITY that their aim was to dispossess the police orderly of his rifle.
Amidst sobs, he said: “I want to repent now. This is the first time I followed them to a high profile operation, I normally engage in local robberies and stealing. I was the one who collected the rifle after the police orderly was shot.”
On their part, the detained policemen are at the police headquarters, where their colleagues queried them over their involvement in crime.
Ameleonye, the kidnap victim though hails from Omuma in Ideato Local Government Area of the state, was kidnapped on July 6, 2018 at Okwelle in Onuimo council.
The exhibits recovered from the suspects included one pump action rifle, a pistol, three cartridges and a car.
The State Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi, confirmed the development, saying that it was an era of community policing when information sharing between the police and communities was vital and yielding results for crime control and prevention.
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