By Tony Edike

ENUGU — Enugu State Police Command has arrested five members of a gang of kidnappers who allegedly abducted the South-East Regional Manager of Afribank, Mr. Uba Anichebe, in December last year.

The state Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mgbakor Ogugua, said yesterday, while parading the suspects at the Police Headquarters, Enugu, that the gang had been involved in incidence of recent kidnapping within the state.

He gave the names (withheld) of the five suspects, who were paraded before newsmen.

The deputy commissioner said the suspects were planning to abduct a professor from Maryland area of the coal city when they were arrested by the police.
Planned to kidnap prof

According to him, “the suspects allegedly belonged to the gang that kidnapped the Afribank Regional Manager, one Mr. Uba Anichebe, in December last year and has allegedly perfected arrangements to abduct one Professor at Maryland, Enugu, when they were apprehended by security operatives of Enugu State Police Command.”

He said items recovered from them included one cut-to-size single barrel gun.

He said the suspected kidnappers would soon be charged to court.

The Command had, a fortnight ago, paraded about 30 kidnappers arrested in different parts of the state, but despite police crack-down, ransom kidnapping had remained a major security problem in the state and other parts of the South-East.