The suspects were arrested when operatives of the Ibiono Ibom division stormed their hideouts in the Ibiaku Ikot Oku community forest, after a tip-off.
The state Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durosinmi, disclosed this on Friday, at the command’s headquarters in Ikot-Akpanabia, Uyo the state capital, while parading the suspects and 69 others arrested for various offences in the state.
Durosinmi said four of the suspects were arrested on January 16, 2024, during a gun duel with the officers of the Ibiono Ibom division while the other six were arrested in a swift follow-up operation conducted by the anti-robbery unit of the command.
He added that four AK-47 rifles were recovered from them during the operations while some escaped with bullet wounds.
Durosinmi said, “As we strive daily to keep the state safe, criminal elements too have continued to try to perpetrate their nefarious acts. This January alone, 79 criminal elements have been arrested for various crimes.
“The greatest achievement within the last month is the arrest of 10 confessed kidnappers, who were planning to unleash mayhem on the state, and recovery of four AK-riffles.
“On January 16, 2024, at about 3:45 p.m., operatives of Ibiono Ibom Division, relying on credible intelligence, stormed Ibiaku Ikot Oku community forest, where over 15 heavily armed suspects were camping and engaged them in a gun duel. Some of the suspects absconded with bullet wounds while four of them were arrested and one AK 47 riffle was recovered.
“A swift follow up of operation by the Anti-Robbery unit of the command led to further arrest of six suspects and the recovery of three more AK 47 riffles,”
The commissioner, who said that the suspects came from neighbouring states to cause havoc in Akwa Ibom, added that they had confessed that they were planning and monitoring to kidnap an expatriate involved in the work construction along the Calabar-Itu Highway.
While thanking the people of the state and soliciting their further cooperation, the CP added that the suspects would be charged in court as soon as investigations are concluded.
