Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested two suspected members of a six-man kidnapping syndicate after a resident of Port Harcourt, identified as Mr Hassan, was abducted and held for three days before his relatives paid ₦10.3 million for his release.
The development was disclosed on Monday, October 5, 2026, by the command’s spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent of Police Blessing Agabe, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt. According to the police, the arrests followed an intelligence-led operation by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit, known as VCRU-AKU.
The police said Hassan was abducted on September 6, 2026, in the vicinity of Fidelity Bank in the Garrison area of Port Harcourt. He was subsequently taken to Igbugulu Waterside, in the Borikiri area of the city, where the kidnappers allegedly kept him captive for three days.
The command said Hassan was eventually released after his relatives paid ₦10.3 million in ransom. The police did not state that the victim was rescued before the ransom was paid. Rather, the official account indicates that his release followed the payment, while subsequent police intelligence and investigation led to the arrest of two alleged members of the gang.
The command said it received credible information about the abduction on September 7, the day after Hassan was kidnapped. Operatives of the VCRU-AKU then commenced what the police described as intelligence-led operations aimed at identifying the suspects and locating members of the criminal network believed to be behind the abduction.
Those arrested were identified as 24-year-old Victor Ifeanyi, also known as “Big Boby”, and 36-year-old Aniekan Okon Michael, also known as “Duff Man”. Police said Ifeanyi is from Aguleri Community in Otuocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, while Michael is from Ikot Ukpor in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
According to the command, preliminary investigation indicated that the two suspects allegedly confessed to their involvement in the operation. Police said the suspects also disclosed that the gang consisted of six members and used a white minibus, commonly referred to as a Keke bus, during the kidnapping.
The identities and whereabouts of the other four alleged members were not disclosed in the statement. However, the police said efforts had been intensified to apprehend the remaining members of the syndicate and bring them to justice.
The latest case also illustrates the continuing financial pressure kidnapping places on families. In Hassan’s case, relatives reportedly paid more than ten million naira to secure his release after he had spent three days in captivity. The police statement did not provide details about how the ransom was delivered, who negotiated the payment or whether any of the money was recovered after the suspects were arrested.
The police also did not disclose whether weapons or other items were recovered during the operation that led to the arrests. The official statement focused on the identities of the two suspects, their alleged links to the six-member syndicate and the ongoing effort to locate the other alleged participants.
While several reports published on October 5 described the development as a police rescue, the police account itself says Hassan was released after his relatives paid the ransom. This distinction is significant because it separates the circumstances of the victim’s release from the later arrests made through the police investigation.
The police statement also did not indicate that the two arrested suspects were the only people directly involved in Hassan’s abduction. Instead, investigators said the suspects allegedly identified a six-man group, meaning four other alleged members remain to be accounted for. Their identities have not been publicly released by the command as of Monday.
The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, appealed to residents to provide credible information that could assist the police in identifying and apprehending suspected criminals. He assured members of the public that information supplied to the authorities would be treated with confidentiality.
Adepoju also reiterated the command’s commitment to using intelligence-led operations to disrupt kidnapping syndicates and other criminal networks across the state. He urged residents to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies by providing timely information that could support investigations.
The latest arrests come as security agencies continue to face the wider challenge of kidnapping in different parts of Nigeria, where criminal groups have frequently targeted individuals and demanded ransom payments from relatives. In many cases, families are forced to make difficult decisions under pressure while security agencies work to identify perpetrators and secure victims.
For the Rivers police, the immediate priority in this case is now the remaining members of the alleged syndicate. The command said it had intensified efforts to locate and arrest them, but as of October 5, there was no official confirmation that any of the other four suspects had been apprehended.
The command has not disclosed whether the suspects have been formally charged in court or whether prosecution proceedings have commenced. Their reported confessions remain allegations until tested through the legal process, and the suspects are entitled to the presumption of innocence unless a court determines otherwise. The police statement did not provide a timeline for completing the investigation or filing charges against those arrested at this stage.
For now, the command’s account establishes that Hassan was abducted on September 6, held for three days at a location in Borikiri and released after ₦10.3 million was paid by his relatives. It also establishes that two men have been arrested in connection with the alleged six-man syndicate, while police efforts to locate the other suspected members are continuing.
The arrests represent the latest reported move by the Rivers State Police Command against suspected kidnapping networks in Port Harcourt. But with four alleged members still at large, the investigation remains ongoing, and the police have indicated that further arrests could follow as intelligence gathered from the two suspects is pursued.
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