Police arrest 3 over alleged robbery, kidnapping

By Enyim Enyim

OWERRI—At least, three persons have been arrested by the police in connection with last Friday night’s armed robbery attack and abduction of the Co-ordinator of Mbaitoli East Development Area of Imo State, Dr. Victor Echeruo.

Vanguard investigations revealed that the hoodlums stormed Dr. Echeruo’s Mbieri country home,  forced every member of the family and visitors at gunpoint to lie down, facing the floor before beginning their nefarious operation.

A member of the village, who pleaded anonymity, told Vanguard that the rampaging hoodlums, robbed the occupants of the house of valuable personal effects, including money and telephone handsets.

It was also gathered that the armed hoodlums bundled the traumatized Coordinator into the booth of his official Toyota Corolla car and drove-off into the night.

Narrating his ordeal to his friends and relations on his return, Dr. Echeruo recalled that midway into the late night after taking-off from his home, his abductors stopped at an unknown point and ordered him to run into the forest.

Although the Imo Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Linus Nwaiwu, could not be reached on his mobile line before press time, a reliable police source revealed that Echeruo’s official car was traced to Akwa Ibom State, where the hoodlums abandoned it.

The officer added that this and other resolved cases have given credence to the fact that most of the serious crime perpetrated in Imo State were carried out by cross border criminals.