A 21-year-old man, Ifeanyi Omeke, has been apprehended by men of the Enugu State Police Command over alleged stealing of a child for ritual purposes.
NIGERIACRIME learnt that the security operatives, alongside the Neighbourhood Watch Group, smashed the child-stealing syndicate at Igogoro Village, Enugu-Ezike community of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state.
The operation took place on October 27, 2023, at about 1.30 p.m.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Daniel Ndukwe, disclosed on Sunday that Omeke confessed to an attempt to steal a one-year, three-month-old girl child.
Ndukwe stated that “the suspect was nabbed after he sneaked into the complainant’s house in the mentioned community and attempted to steal a one-year, three-month-old girl child.
“The suspect confessed to the crime, stating that he was contracted by his cohorts at large, to steal children for ritual and other criminal purposes.”
The statement noted that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further thorough investigation that will lead to the arrest of other members of the criminal syndicate and their prosecution.
In a separate development, one Ulim Amos Udo of Udianga Enem village, Etim Ekpo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has lost his life while trying to steal electric cables belonging to the community.
It was gathered that the electric pole crashed with the suspected cable thief to the ground, killing him in the process.
Community sources disclosed on Sunday that the deceased, suspected to be a notorious cultist, has been in the habit of stealing and robbing people of their valuables including livestock.
A member of the youths’ vigilante group, Akpan Effiong Etuk, told journalists that “the incident occurred at about 2:00am, when the entire community people were already fast asleep”.
He narrated, “When he climbed the pole, he had no premonition that due to heavy rain in recent times, the ground could be very soft for the pole to be firm enough to carry his weight.
“At the top of the pole, in the process of trying to be very fast in cutting off the cables, he fell down with the collapsing concrete pole, which crashed and heavily injured him.
“His accomplices rushed to his compound, popularly called Ilung – Udoiyong, and alerted the parents, who rushed him to a local traditional bone-setter at Ikot Edet village, in the neighbouring Ukanafun LGA, but unfortunately he died, and was hurriedly buried on Saturday.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Odiko MacDon, when contacted said that the Command has not received such information, adding he would call the DPO in Etim Ekpo local government to confirm the development.