Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command, led by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Olatunji Disu, have stormed a vast bush behind the Adokiye-Amiesimaka Stadium at Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Government Area, and its environs in Rivers State in a bid to ensure the security of lives and property of people in the state.

Disu, who was accompanied by Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations, DCP Adepoju Olugbenga, some Area Commanders, heads of tactical units, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), and officers of the command, stormed the bush where suspected kidnappers terrorising Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road are believed to be hiding.

It would be recalled that on January 2, kidnappers suspected to be criminal herdsmen struck and kidnapped some travellers and led them to an unknown destination.

The police had mobilised its men in the area and vowed to stamp out criminal activities on the road that leads to Port Harcourt International Airport.

However, police, during the operation in the early hours of Saturday, arrested about ten suspects from the bush and destroyed about 12 tents used by the kidnappers.

Speaking, DCP Operations, Adepoju Olugbenga, told newsmen that the development was a routine exercise to rid the state of kidnappers.

Olugbenga stated that the police mostly go to vulnerable points where there are issues of hoodlums trying to disturb the peace of the place to sack them to restore sanity.

He explained that within the period there were issues of hoodlums trying to ambush people going to and coming from the airport, hence the need for the raid, revealing that the command had deployed a lot of personnel in the area.

The DCP explained that: “It is part of the routine exercise as directed by Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Disu, to ensure that Rivers State is free of crime and criminality. The CP led the team to the place and distributed everyone to every angle of the bush.

“Behind the Adokiye-Amasemaka stadium, there are abandoned buildings, buildings under construction, and good roads, which makes it a good area for criminals to hibernate,” he said.

He noted that during the raid, ten suspects were arrested, adding that the camps were destroyed.

“There is special concentration on the airport axis because of its importance to the state, and the police cannot allow criminal activities to thrive there or in any other part of the state,” DCP Olugbenga added. (Vanguard)

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