Police nab kidnapper after collecting N25m ransom, rescue hotelier

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested one kidnapper, who abducted a popular hotelier in the state and received N25 million ransom.

The Guardian learned that the hotelier was taken on December 19, 2023, from his Port Harcourt residence.

The Commissioner of Police (CP), Olatunji Disu, during a briefing at the state police headquarters in Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, on Monday, noted that the wife of the victim approached the police after the abductors of her husband refused to release him, even after receiving N25 million as ransom.

The CP further disclosed that the hoodlums, in the kidnapping process, shot the victim in the leg thrice before dragging him away.

Disu said: “This victim, a popular hotelier in town, was kidnapped on December 19 in his residence by these hoodlums, who shot him thrice in the leg before he was abducted.

“The family did not tell the police or any other security agency; they decided to pay the ransom that was demanded by the kidnappers. About N25 million (in dollars) was paid to these kidnappers, yet they refused to release the victim.

“It was at this stage that the wife of the victim decided to inform the police on December 30 and then the police, the C4I Intelligence, started work on the case immediately.”

He noted that the command, upon receipt of the crime report from the victim’s wife, drafted officers and men of the command to trail the kidnappers to their hideout and arrest them.

The CP revealed that the police, around 7.00am on Monday, raided the camp of the kidnappers and rescued the injured victim.

He explained: “At a particular time, towards the end of December, early this month (January), our officers had an encounter with them (kidnappers), but the kidnappers escaped, noticing that the officers of the command had noticed the kind of vehicle and the colour, they decided to take their two operational vehicles to the panel beater for the colours to be changed.

“The colours of the vehicle have been changed and we have recovered the two vehicles. Last night, on discovering where the victim was kept, we decided to embark on a rescue operation for the victims today.”

“So, today about 7.00am, officers of the command went to their abode in Agbochia forest, where the victim had been kept since then.”

The police boss further disclosed that the rescued victim had been admitted to a health facility, where he is receiving treatment, adding that operatives, during the operation, recovered one AK-47 rifle with two magazines and 44 live ammunitions, as well as two Lexus SUVS the kidnappers were using to carry out their operations.

The CP vowed to track down other fleeing members of the kidnapping syndicate to face the law.