Police arrest 2 kidnap suspects, rescue expectant mother in Enugu

The Police Command in Enugu State has arrested two kidnap suspects while rescuing an expectant mother unhurt along Eke-Egede Road in Udi Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State.

The Command Spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said in a statement on Saturday in Enugu that police operatives acting on intelligence-guided discreet investigations had arrested two male kidnapping suspects in connection to the incident.

Ndukwe noted that the identities of the suspects had been withheld for investigation reasons, for the alleged abduction of a heavily pregnant woman along Eke-Egede Road in Udi LGA, around 9:45 p.m., on April 22, 2024.

According to him, this was after the state’s Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, swiftly led a crack team of police operatives, complemented by Neigbourhood Watch Group and Forest Guards, to rescue the woman on April 23, 2024, around noon, barely 24 hours after her abduction.

He said: “Providentially, the woman, later identified as Mrs Chinwendu Igwe and already in her expected period of delivery, delivered a male child and, upon her rescue, was taken to the hospital.

“She and the baby were medically attended to and are in good condition courtesy of the Enugu State Government, which has undertaken to foot the medical bills of the mother and newborn.

“A preliminary investigation into the incident has revealed that the woman, unaided and for reasons yet-to-be ascertained, knowing that she was within her expected period of delivery, embarked on a journey by land with two of her children from Lagos to her paternal home in Egede, Udi LGA.

“She got to 9th Mile around 9 p.m. Lacking a convenient means of conveyance, she boarded a commercial motorcycle, with the motorcyclist electing to transport her and her two children due to her state of pregnancy.

“However, while on their way, the abductors attacked them, beat up the motorcyclist, and abducted the woman into the forest, leaving the rider and the children behind, before a team of police operatives responded upon intercepting information on the incident, could get to the scene.”

The Command Spokesman said that the Commissioner of Police had ordered the manhunt of other members of the kidnapping gang at large.

Ndukwe said that the commissioner enjoined media houses to always maintain accuracy and objectivity when reporting security information of this nature to avoid misinforming the unsuspecting public and violating laws and ethics of media practices.

“The commissioner, however, bemoans the fact that Mrs Igwe decided to embark on such long-distance travel by land and unaided, considering her heavy pregnancy and the time of movement to her final destination.

“Neither did she consider stopping by and having her husband, who resides in Enugu metropolis, take her to the said paternal home at a later time. Hence, he urges all and sundry to exercise discretion and caution in such circumstances.”