The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a couple, Kingsley Okoye (36) and Chidinma Okoye (27), for allegedly sending threatening messages and attempting to kidnap unsuspecting individuals.
In a statement issued on Friday, the command’s spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, revealed that the suspects specialized in issuing abduction threats via text messages, demanding ransom with the ultimatum of abduction or death.
According to Ikenga, the couple was arrested on Friday by a joint security force consisting of police officers and vigilante operatives. The arrest followed a technology-driven operation based on actionable intelligence.
“The suspects confessed to the crime and admitted to destroying some of the SIM cards they had previously used to carry out their threats,” the statement read.
Ikenga further noted that the police were investigating a related voice note circulating online, which detailed how a victim narrowly escaped abduction by an alleged security operative.
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The police have not taken the information lightly and are actively working to unmask the suspects behind this and similar incidents.
The statement continued, “The Anambra State Police Command is aware and already investigating a recent trending voice note of a security report on how a victim escaped abduction by an alleged security operative.”
“Given reports of text messages and voice notes received by unsuspecting members of the public on threats of abduction and kidnap, the Joint Security Force comprising the Police and AVG acting on technology-driven information in the early hours of today (Friday), arrested a couple, Mr. Okoye Kingsley (36 years old) and Mrs. Chidinma Okoye (27 years old) in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State, recovering phones and SIM cards.”
The couple was arrested in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo LGA, where their phones and SIM cards were seized as evidence. The police confirmed that the suspects are being interrogated, and further investigations are ongoing.
In response to the developments, the state Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, has ordered that the case be transferred to the anti-kidnapping and robbery squad for further investigation. The suspects will be charged in court once the investigation is concluded.
Additionally, Ikenga confirmed that the police are actively investigating the related security report and have used intelligence tools to address the issue and prevent any recurrence of similar incidents.
“The command did not take the information for granted. Hence, it activated all the necessary intelligence tools to unmask the suspects and nip the issue in the bud to avoid reoccurrence,” Ikenga concluded.
