Police nab kidnappers who killed victims after collecting N10.4m ransom

The Rivers State Police Command has arrested three suspected kidnappers alleged to have killed two of their victims despite collecting a total ransom of N10.4 million.

The arrest followed a distress call reporting the abduction of Humphrey Wagbara in Igwuruta-Atali, located in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

According to a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday by the Command’s spokesperson,  Grace Iringe-Koko, the suspects — aged between 20 and 25 — have been linked to multiple kidnapping operations across Port Harcourt and neighbouring areas.

Iringe-Koko said operatives from the Anti-Cultism Unit, Emohua Annex, swiftly launched a coordinated operation based on the intelligence received and apprehended the suspects at different hideouts in Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre LGAs.

“On August 26, 2025, the Rivers State Police Command received a distressing report regarding the kidnapping of one Humphrey Wagbara of Igwuruta-Atali,” the statement read.

“Acting on this information, operatives carried out a daring and well-coordinated operation on September 19, 2025, at about 2:00 a.m., resulting in the arrest of three suspects.”

The arrested suspects were identified as: Hassan Mohammed, 20, from Wandigah Town in Mandagali LGA, Adamawa State, Bello Abubakar, 25, from Roundabout Maura, Sokoto State and Yusuf Ahmed, 23, from Hazari LGA, Bauchi State

During interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed to their involvement in several kidnappings, including the abduction of Onwuli Jude and Nwabueze Nchekwube on September 24, 2025, in School Road, Igwuruta-Atali, where they collected a ransom of N6.9 million but still killed Nchekwube.

They also included the kidnapping of Mercy Chinyere on September 12, 2025, in the same area, for which a ransom of N3.5 million was paid before she was released.

Items recovered from the suspects included one G-3 rifle with breech number 10398, one magazine, one Itel phone belonging to victim Humphrey Wagbara, three short daggers, one jack knife, and one stainless short knife

The suspects are currently in police custody, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang and recover additional weapons.