The Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) has arrested six members of a notorious syndicate that has been terrorising the people of Enugu State.

The suspects were alleged to be terrorising the state, especially the Emene-Nike with guns and other deadly weapons. They were also alleged to be demolishing their victims’ buildings as well as confiscating their land if they failed to settle them.

The police said three locally made guns, one sledge hammer and a knife were recovered from the suspects – Nomeh, Nnamani, James, Asigah, Agustin and Nwobodo.

The police alleged the suspects were intimidating and dispossessing land owners of their property within the area.

Trouble started for the suspects when they attempted to disposes Mrs. Ngozi Egbe of her landed property at a gun point.

They were further alleged to have demolished a section of Egbe’s building under construction at a gun point.

Aggrieved Egbe petitioned the IGP, Mohammed Adamu, over the activities of the land grabbers in the state, who quickly deployed IRT operatives to Enugu to arrest and bring the suspects to book.

The visit to Enugu by the IRT paid off as the suspects were arrested and arms recovered from them.

The suspects were alleged to have confessed to the police that they were paid N100,000 by their leader Nomeh, to demolish Egbe’s building.

One of the suspects, Nnamani, said: “Chief Nomeh contracted us to do the job. He told us to demolish the building as someone was encroaching on his plot. I contacted others and we stormed the area with arms and other weapons which we used to intimidate people working on the land.

Reacting, Nomeh, who is also addressed as Chief justified his actions, claiming that the land on which the demolished building stood belonged to his father. “After the death of my father, our neighbouring community came to drag my father’s land with me, and in 2005, I took members of the neighbouring community and the person who bought the land to court.

This land has a certificate of occupancy from the Enugu State government,” he said. (Daily Sun)

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