Armed Robbery, Kidnapping Escalate In Rivers State

Armed robbery and kidnapping in Rivers State increased between June and August 2011, according to the records of the Police Command in the state.

The records, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt yesterday, showed that 40 armed robbery and 37 kidnap suspects were arrested in May 2011.

In June, the figures rose to 61 armed robbery and 19 kidnap suspects respectively as against 121 robbery and 30 kidnap suspects in July.

The records further showed that by mid-August, police had arrested 48 robbery and 22 kidnap suspects and by the end of the month, the number of armed robbery suspects skyrocked to 270 persons while the number of kidnap suspects shut up to 108 during the period.

On casualties, the records showed that a total of 51 robbery suspects and 19 kidnap suspects were “fatally wounded” while seven police officers were killed by criminals during the period under review

Furthermore, the police said that 90 AK47 assault rifles, 34 stolen vehicles, motorbikes, hundreds of live ammunition, one laptop and 22 assorted GSM handsets were recovered from the suspects during the review period.

NAN recalls that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, had said that the force had resolved to “fight crime to the finish” in the state.