The Rivers State Police Command has arrested 18 suspected criminals, including a fake soldier allegedly involved in car snatching, and recovered 47 firearms from different parts of the state in the last two months.

The command also said it recovered 12 stolen vehicles, 102 rounds of live ammunition, five live cartridges and 11 cutlasses within the period under review.

The State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this while parading some of the arrested suspects and displaying the recovered exhibits before newsmen at the command’s headquarters along Moscow Road in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

Also paraded were suspects allegedly involved in kidnapping, one-chance robbery, armed robbery and cultism, as well as three suspects linked to the murder of two police officers who were on stop-and-search duty on June 29 at Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state.

Adepoju said the 49-year-old fake soldier, identified as Andrew Atausi, was dressed in military uniform and driving a Toyota Hilux painted in Army colours when operatives, who had been on his trail, swooped on him in the Ada George axis of Port Harcourt on August 10.

The commissioner said, “Today, I will brief you on the significant operational achievements recorded by this command between June and August 2026.

“On June 29, 2026, our officers on stop-and-search duty at Aluu Division were attacked. Two of our officers paid the supreme price, others were wounded, while one had his leg amputated. Two AK-47 rifles were carted away.

“I directed our operatives to go after those responsible, in line with the initiative of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, in protecting lives and property and bringing all criminal elements to justice.

“I am glad to inform you that operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU-AKU, have arrested three members of that gang. They are Maduabuchi Emeka, 34, the gang leader; Chinedu Owhor, 42; and Kamachi Joe, 28, who is their armourer.

“During interrogation, they confessed and led us to their hideout at Omagwa, where we recovered the two stolen AK-47 rifles. We are still on the trail of the fourth suspect.

“We arrested five members of a kidnapping syndicate in Oyigbo Local Government Area. They are Ezekiel Emmanuel, 44; Chukwuma Mbanefor, 51; Nicholas Diala, 65; and two others. They confessed to carrying out kidnappings in Kom-Kom, Railway, Obeama and Afam communities.

“Further to that, on July 27, 2026, we arrested two more suspects from the same network: Anele Ogbogu, 35, the gang’s armourer, and Kenneth Eke, 38. Exhibits recovered include one AK-47 rifle and one SMG rifle. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend other syndicate members.”

Adepoju continued, “On July 26, 2026, following a complaint from Mrs Minna Boma of Bonny, our operatives arrested Boma Dienye Allison, 35, for allegedly threatening his wife with a firearm.

“A search of his premises led to the recovery of two Beretta pistols, 97 rounds of live ammunition and one live cartridge. Further investigation led to the arrest of Dagogo Abusi, 30, and Richard Tolofari, 33.

“On July 21, 2026, the command arrested Daddy Aleelo, 40, and Destiny Tor-ue, 22. We recovered one cut-to-size locally made pistol, one double-barrel pump-action gun and five live cartridges from them. They have confessed to several criminal activities.

“We also arrested two members of a one-chance syndicate: Uche Samuel, 45, and Nkechi Amadi, 42. They have both confessed.

“On August 10, 2026, our operatives, leveraging credible intelligence, intercepted and arrested Andrew Atausi, 49, along Ada George, Port Harcourt, who was dressed in military uniform and driving a Toyota Hilux painted in Army colours.

“During investigation, the suspect confessed that he is not a member of the Armed Forces. Further investigation revealed that he is a suspected serial car snatcher, and three suspected stolen vehicles were recovered from him: three Toyota Hilux vehicles without registration numbers and one Toyota Corona Premio with registration number BNY 380 ES.

“The chassis and engine numbers of the recovered vehicles had been tampered with. We also recovered an axe and military accoutrements from the suspect.

“In total, we arrested 18 suspects, recovered 47 firearms of different calibres, 12 stolen vehicles, 102 rounds of live ammunition, an axe, five live cartridges and 11 cutlasses.”

Adepoju assured residents of the state of the command’s unrelenting efforts to stamp out crime through sustained intelligence-led, proactive and community-oriented policing.

He said the command was working closely with the military, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other stakeholders to achieve this.

“I also use this opportunity to speak to parents and guardians: Please, monitor your children, know their friends, warn them against cultism, kidnapping, armed robbery and internet fraud. There is no future in crime.

“Let me be very clear, Rivers State will not be a safe haven for criminals. We will find you, we will dismantle your networks, we will recover your weapons, and we will prosecute you,” CP Adepoju assured. (The PUNCH)

•Some of the arrested suspects and recovered firearms paraded by the State Commissioner for Police, Olugbenga Adepoju at the Command Headquarters along Moscow Road in Port Harcourt on Thursday. Photo credit: Dennis Naku

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