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Three Kidnappers Arrested On Port Harcourt-Owerri Highway

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Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have apprehended three notorious kidnappers who have been terrorising travellers and motorists along the Port Harcourt-Owerri highway.

The suspects are said to be behind a series of armed robberies and abductions in the area, including the recent kidnapping of a National Youth Service Corps member.

The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Mohammed, disclosed this on Wednesday while parading the suspects and others before journalists in Port Harcourt.

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Mohammed explained that the criminals were known for setting up illegal roadblocks at strategic points on the highway, where they ambushed motorists at gunpoint, abducted them, and demanded ransoms from their families.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Has Disappointed Africa, Black Race – Obasanjo

The Rivers State Police Command has apprehended three notorious kidnap suspects following a series of highway robberies and kidnappings along the Port Harcourt-Owerri Expressway.

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“This arrest is part of an intensified crackdown on criminal activities along the route, which has been a hotspot for violent attacks on motorists,” the Commissioner said

The suspects were identified as 20-year-old Blessing Akpelu, also known as NTA; Precious Ebee, 30; and Wisdom Amadi, 28. All three are natives of Egbeda in the Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.

According to Mohammed, the suspects have been under surveillance for some time due to an alarming spike in kidnappings, including the abduction of an NYSC member and two others along the Elele/Omerelu axis of the expressway.

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READ ALSO: Court Stops Sale Of Late Judge’s Property As Daughter Sues Church

“The first two suspects were arrested on October 17, 2024, by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, while the third suspect, Wisdom Amadi, believed to be the gang leader, was apprehended at Egbeda on October 19, 2024,” Mohammed revealed.

The Commissioner added that the suspects confessed to the kidnappings and other related crimes. Their arrests were made possible through intelligence gathered by the police, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend their accomplices, retrieve their weapons, and dismantle their criminal network.

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Mohammed assured the public that the command remains committed to ensuring the safety of all road users along the Port Harcourt-Owerri Expressway, urging citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the nearest police station.

In a separate development, the police also arrested a suspected armed robber involved in an attack on a female corps member, during which her iPhone was stolen.

READ ALSO: Buy Petrol N1000/Litre Or CNG At N200, Tinubu Tells Nigerians

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“In the same operation, we arrested one Baridam Berebom from Mogho in Gokana Local Government Area. He was found with an SMG rifle, which he and his gang used to rob a female NYSC member of her iPhone 12,” the Commissioner said.

He explained that the police responded swiftly to a distress call and, following a hot pursuit, arrested Berebom, while other members of his gang managed to escape. The stolen phone and the rifle used in the robbery were recovered.

Mohammed reassured the public that the police are actively pursuing the remaining members of the gang, urging citizens to continue providing timely and credible information.

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Metro

LASG Orders Eviction Of Squatters Under Opebi–Mende Bridge

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The Lagos State Government has ordered the immediate eviction of squatters and traders who have converted the space beneath the yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into makeshift homes and shops.

The directive followed an unscheduled inspection of the bridge on Thursday by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Olufemi Daramola, and the Permanent Secretary, Olatokunbo Oyenuga.

According to a statement signed and released by the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Kunle Adeshina, Wahab directed security agencies to immediately move in and dislodge all squatters and demolish illegal structures erected beneath the bridge.

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“The Lagos State Government has given a marching order for the immediate dislodgement of all types of squatters who have converted the underbelly of the new but yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into homes and stores,” the statement read.

READ ALSO:Adekunle Gold Unveils Street Named After Him In Lagos

Wahab said the state government would not allow any part of the newly built infrastructure to become a haven for miscreants, stressing that protecting lives and property remained a core duty of the administration.

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“It is disheartening that an iconic project which is almost ready for commissioning, has suddenly been taken over by different shades of miscreants and squatters.

“Even some people from the Cane Village have come to the underbelly of the bridge to create an illegal settlement. We will not only dislodge them but also permanently monitor the location to ensure they do not return,” Wahab was quoted as saying in the statement.

Reinforcing his stance in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Wahab wrote that the Sanwo-Olu administration “will not tolerate lawlessness,” warning mechanics who have turned the adjoining open space into workshops to vacate immediately or risk having their vehicles impounded.

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READ ALSO:Why DSS Questioned Me Over Viral Threat Video — Lagos NURTW Boss

Security agencies will move in immediately, and we will sustain monitoring to ensure squatters do not return. The Opebi–Mende Bridge is a huge investment by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu–led administration, and we will protect it for the benefit of law-abiding citizens,” he wrote.

The Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Engr. Daramola, noted that the state had invested heavily in the project and warned that failure to act swiftly could turn the area into a slum. He pledged to collaborate with the Ministry of the Environment to clean up and maintain the site.

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The Opebi–Mende-Ojota Link Bridge, initiated by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was flagged off on 26 January 2022.

It is approximately 3.9 km long and is designed to connect Opebi in Ikeja through Mende to Maryland and Ojota, offering relief to motorists in the Ikeja-Ojota axis by easing congestion on roads such as Mobolaji Bank-Anthony and Kudirat Abiola Way.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Government has intensified enforcement operations to remove illegal structures under bridges and drainage channels in places like Ijora, Apongbon, Obalende, and Adeniji-Adele, as part of efforts to reclaim public space and address environmental, safety, and traffic concerns.

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Oil Spill Pollutes Bayelsa Communities

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An oil spill from an 8-inch crude delivery pipeline at Oil Mining Lease 29 has polluted Nembe communities around the Santa Barbara River in Bayelsa.

The OML 29 asset is operated by Nembe Exploration and Production Company Limited, formerly Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the leak at Tora area in Nembe occurred on October 1, discharging a yet to be ascertained volume of Crude stress into the Santa Barbara River and surrounding areas.

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According to a letter to the operator of OML 29 by the legal counsel to the Opu Nembe Kingdom, signed by Mr Iniruo Wills, Managing Partner of Ntephe Smith and Wills, the spill has adversely impacted the people who depend on the Santa Barbara River.

READ ALSO:Neconde’s Oil Spill In Delta Community Causes Outrage

The letter sighted by a NAN Correspondent was in response to an invitation to a Joint Investigation Visit to the spill site to ascertain the cause and volume of the spill.

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The oil firm had confirmed the oil spill in a letter Ref: NEPCo/HSE-JIV/2025/04 dated October 5, which proposed a JIV for October 6.

The Nembe communities, in response to the letter, kicked against the October 6 date and opted for October 9.

“We remind you, as you are quite aware of already, that the Community requires and deserves decent notice to assemble a competent JIV team, some of whom usually come from Lagos, Port Harcourt and/or Yenagoa, in order to ensure due diligence and avoid or countervail the perennial practice of manipulating the JIV process and suppressing critical information.

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READ ALSO:Farms Destroyed As Oil Spill Ravages Rivers Community

Please note that our clients demand a thorough and competent investigation of this spill, and adequate management (including swift post-spill assessment and remediation).

“Beyond this spill, for the records, we demand on behalf of our clients again for a top-level engagement (Company, Community Technical Team, and Regulators) for a lasting overall framework to put a stop to this unbearable and continual burden,” the letter read in part.

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Numerous oil spills in Bayelsa communities such as in the Obololi community and the Ogboinbiri area had been reported, leading to environmental contamination, loss of livelihoods from fish farms and farmlands, and health concerns, including water scarcity and potential outbreaks.

These recurring incidents, often attributed to equipment failure on pipelines operated by companies like Oando and Shell, have resulted in resident frustration over inadequate cleanup, lack of relief, and the spread of pollution into streams, creeks, and farmlands.

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FULL LIST: Police Arrest Suspects Involved In Death Of Arise TV Presenter

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The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has confirmed the arrest of 12 suspects involved in the armed robbery incident that led to the death of Arise TV presenter, Somtochukwu Maduagwu.

According to the police, the suspects are: Shamsudeen Hassan ‘m’ from Katsina State, Hassan Isah ‘m’, 22 years from Kaduna, Abubakar Alkamu a.k.a. abba ‘m’, 27 years from Katsina, Sani Sirajo a.k.a. dan borume ‘m’ 20 years from Katsina, Mashkur Jamilu a.k.a. abba ‘m’ 28 years from Kaduna and Suleiman Badamasi a.k.a. dan-sule ‘m’ 21 years from Katsina.

Others are Abdul Salam saleh a.k.a. na-durudu ‘m’ from Katsina, Zaharadeen Muhammad a.k.a. gwaska ‘m’ 23 years from Kaduna, Musa adamu a.k.a. musa hassan ‘m’ 30 years from Katsina, Sumayya Mohammed a.k.a. baby ‘m’ 27 years from Kaduna, Isah Abdulrahman a.k.a. abbati ‘m’, 25 years from Kaduna and Musa Umar a.k.a. small ‘m’ 31 years from Borno.

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READ ALSO:ARISE News Broadcaster Killed In Abuja

The police added that shortly after the robbery incident, four (4) of the suspects Shamsudeen Hassan, Alkamu, Sirajo and one other person were apprehended through the tracking of phones stollen from the apartment during the robbery.

“During interrogation, Shamsudeen Hassan confessed that he shot the security guard when he attempted to prevent them from gaining access to the apartment,” the statement read.

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Sani Sirajo confessed to have tried to hold Somtochukwu Christella Maduagwu from falling off the three-storey building but was overwhelmed by her weight.

“Shamsudeen further confessed that he drove the white honda CR-V jeep out of the apartment after the operation. The four suspects admitted that they each received ₦200,000 from the proceeds of the crime.”

READ ALSO:FG Gives Overstaying Foreigners Ultimatum To Regularise Visa

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Recovered exhibits include: One fabricated ak-47 rifle, 36 rounds of 9mm live ammunition, one locally made pistol, one pump-action gun, two live cartridges, four mobile phones of the victims, two sharp knives, one cutlass and nine torchlights used during the operation.

The police said: “In continuation of investigations, yesterday, 08/10/2025, acting on a tip-off and actionable digital intelligence also provided by us, the remaining members of the gang, Musa umar a.k.a. small, Hassan Isah and other accomplices involved in the Gishiri robbery were intercepted while enroute to an already planned armed robbery operation scheduled to hold at maitama in the early hours of this morning.”

According to the statement, all suspects have confessed to the crimes while investigation is ongoing.

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