The Police Command in Rivers has announced the arrest of Nwile Bete, 30, a suspected kidnap kingpin during an operation in Port Harcourt.

The operation also led to the rescue of a 10-year-old boy allegedly abducted by the suspect.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed the development in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday.

She said that Bete allegedly kidnapped the boy on Nov. 25 and demanded a ransom of N5m for his release.

“After the minor was abducted, his mother reported the incident to the police, prompting the Anti-Kidnapping Unit to take swift action,” Iringe-Koko said.

She explained that officers, acting on credible intelligence, tracked Bete to Rumuekeni School Road in Rumuekeni Town, Port Harcourt, where he was apprehended.

“While in custody, Bete confessed to the crime and subsequently led operatives to Sogho village in Khana area, where the boy was rescued unharmed.

“The victim has since been debriefed and reunited with his family, while the suspect remains in custody,” she added.

Iringe-Koko confirmed that investigations are ongoing to apprehend the other members of Bete’s gang who are currently at large.

She assured that the suspect would face charges in court upon conclusion of the investigation.

“This arrest is a significant breakthrough and part of the police command’s broader strategy to tackle crime and criminal activities in Rivers state,” she said. (NAN)

Three police officers and a female suspect have been confirmed dead in a road accident that occurred in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The police officers were deployed from the state police headquarters to arrest the female suspect in Ore.

It was on their way to Akure that a trailer coming from the Ijebu-Ode axis lost control and rammed into the police van conveying the late officers and the suspect.

All of them died on the spot while a policeman who sustained serious injuries was rushed to the hospital

Police spokesperson, SP Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, confirmed the incident.

The Ondo Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC),  Samuel Ibitoye, who confirmed the incident, said the accident occurred as a result of overspending.

He said the remains of the victims were deposited in the morgue of state the state hospital in Ore.

A Delta State High Court sitting at Akwukwu-igbo yesterday sentenced one Obinna Eze to death by hanging for killing a six-month-old child.

Eze was charged with three counts of attempted murder, murder and causing grievous harm, preferred against him by the Delta State Government.

The state government had charged Eze for killing a six-month-old baby, one Chimaobi Igwe, and causing bodily harm to the child’s mother, Mrs Blessing Igwe.

He pleaded not guilty and trial went on.

However, yesterday, Justice Marcel Okoh found the defendant guilty of all the charge.

Delivering judgment, Justice Okoh held that the prosecution proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt.

He said that evidence provided by the deceased child’s mother, the pathologist, and the confessional statement tendered by the police established the prosecution’s case.

The court, on the other hand, rejected the defendant’s denial in his testimony before the court, and the retraction of his confessional statement.

The court convicted and sentenced him to death by hanging for killing the six-month-old child.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prosecution was led by the State Solicitor and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Mr Omamuzo Erebe.

He said the convict committed the offences on Oct. 27, 2023, at Talita Street, at Okpanam Road Asaba.