By Joseph Erunke & Abdulwahab  Abdulah

ABUJA—THE Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, has attributed the arrest of Chukwujeme Onwamadike, the suspected kidnapper, popularly known as Evans, to information sharing and intelligence cooperation among police services in West Africa.

To this end, he said; “information sharing was crucial to tackling the menace of trans-border crimes in West Africa.’’

A statement from Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said Idris, who spoke in Accra, Ghana, in a paper titled: The role of Nigeria Police in national security and its contributions in West Africa, delivered at an ongoing West Africa international security conference, said; ‘’It was through such exchange that we were able to nab a Ghanaian/Nigerian kidnapper two weeks ago, after evading arrest for many years.

“For several years, Evans terrorised Nigerians and nationals of many countries across West Africa. Efforts to apprehend him did not yield the desired results until we spread our search net wider.’’

The police chief, who solicited closer ties among security agencies in the sub-region, emphasised the need to improve the method of monitoring and surveillance, particularly among border and coastal police units.

Police IG Idris happy with the gesture

He called for improved communication capabilities among intelligence gathering outfits in West Africa, and mutual support to plug loopholes usually exploited by criminals.

Meantime, three suspects, Kingsley Egbonu, Emeka Egbeonu, Emeka Egbulugha and Tochukwu Nwosu held by the police in connection with alleged kidnapping cases carried out by notorious kingpin, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, a.k.a Evans, were on Tuesday granted bail by a Lagos Court.

The bail granted by Magistrate Adeeyo, sitting in Yaba Magistrate Court, was sequel to the bail applications filed by their counsel, who argued that the suspects cannot be kept in police detention without preferring charges against them.

He said that the Nigeria Police Force had 300,000 personnel in 127 area commands and 5,303 divisions, adding that the force had consistently contributed to stability and peace in ECOWAS nations and under UN mandates.

EVANS

Meantime, three suspects, Kingsley Egbonu, Emeka Egbeonu, Emeka Egbulugha and Tochukwu Nwosu held by the police in connection with alleged kidnapping cases carried out by notorious  kingpin, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, a.k.a Evans, were on Tuesday granted bail by a Lagos Magistrate Court.

The bail granted by Magistrate Adeeyo, sitting in Yaba Magistrate Court, was sequel to the bail applications filed by their counsel, who argued that the suspects cannot be kept in police detention without preferring charges against them.