The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has said it arrested 562 suspects for various offences in the last quarter of 2023.
This was made known by the State Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durosinmi, while speaking with journalists on Saturday in Uyo, the State capital.
He explained that the operatives of the command arrested the suspects for various crimes ranging from murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and stealing.
The CP disclosed that a number of the suspects have been charged in court, and some of them were granted bail while others are still under investigation.
The offences, he listed to include pipeline vandalism and economic sabotage by one Godwin Ita Effiong, who connived with four others to vandalise a pipeline belonging to Frontier Oil and stole 18 jerry cans of 25 litres of crude oil on Nov. 18.
Durosimi said that during the period under review, one Francis Eze and Johnson Amadu, allegedly armed with locally made gun robbed a POS operator, one Glory Akpan and carted away with her POS machine, Android phone and N300,000.
He also stated that on Nov. 21, the operatives of the command arrested Samuel Jackson and Favour Friday, for allegedly abducting a three-year-old child, daughter of one Effiong Akpan.
He cited that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects sold the child to a woman in Abia through a third party, adding that efforts are being intensified to arrest other suspects and rescue the child.
“May I on behalf of the officers and men of the Akwa Ibom Command wish you a fruitful New Year ahead.
“For the yuletide, I deployed 1,758 officers and men to effectively provide security during the Christmas, and am happy that we had a peaceful celebration.
“lllI must say that our security strategies and our collaboration with sister security agencies has led to a more peaceful Akwa Ibom.
“During the last quarter of the year, a total of 562 suspects were arrested for various offences ranging from murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and stealing,” he said.
The Akwa Ibom police boss stressed that with the procurement of 14 gunboats by the state government to the Nigerian Navy, maritime crimes would be reduced to the barest minimum in the state.
He then warned the miscreants to shun criminal activities or relocate as the state is no longer safe for them.
