Edith CHUKU
The Rivers State Police command has rescued a 13-year-old girl who went missing on June 5, 2025, while running errand for her mother in Umuebule community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The girl was rescued from her abductors while the principal suspect, a 36-year-old Mr Chizoba Andrew Obi, was arrested and some exhibits recovered.
This was revealed in a statement made available to TNN on Thursday, by the Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-koko.
According to the statement, the victim’s mother was said to have subsequently received ransom demands of two million naira via phone calls threatening that the daughter will be killed if the demand was not met.
Irinke-Koko explained that, “on June 7, 2025, at about 0930hrs, the Rivers State Police Command received credible intelligence regarding a 13-year-old girl who went missing on June 5, 2025 at about 1530hrs, while running an errand for her mother in Umuebule community, Etche Local Government Area.
“The victim’s mother subsequently received ransom demands of Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) via phone calls threatening that the daughter will be killed if the demand was not met.
“Operatives from the C4i Intelligence unit promptly swung into action, arresting a 24-year-old female suspect from Igbo-Etche, suspected to be the subscriber of the SIM cards linked to the ransom demands. The suspect had allegedly claimed that her phone was robbed on June 5, 2025.
“Further investigation on June 10, 2025 at about 1600hrs culminated in the arrest of the principal suspect, Chizoba Andrew Obi, a 36-year-old male suspect and the kidnapped victim was rescued unhurt in a fenced forest at Umuechem Community, Etche Local Government Area.”
Irinke-Koko added that exhibits recovered were one locally made Pistol, one live Cartridge.
She said, “during interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a serial kidnapping kingpin operating with a four-man gang.
“As Police operatives were led by the suspect to the forest to recover their operational weapons, the gang members on sighting the Police Operatives opened fire, prompting a shootout between the Police and kidnappers. The arrested suspect attempted to flee but was caught in the crossfire and was neutralized, sustaining bullet wounds, while other members of the gang escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.
“He was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) for medical treatment, but was pronounced dead by the Medical Doctor on duty. The corpse of the deceased suspect has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.
“The victim was debriefed and has been reunited with her family.
“Investigation is ongoing, with efforts underway to apprehend other members of the syndicate and recover their operational weapons.”
Further, the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga A. Adepoju, commended the operatives for their bravery and reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ensuring safety and security of all citizens.
He further noted that efforts will be sustained to bring to justice all perpetrators of crime and criminality in the State, while urging the public to be vigilant and promptly report any suspicious individual(s) with gunshot wounds to the nearest Police Station or other Security agencies.
