The Delta State Police Command has successfully dismantled a notorious kidnap syndicate responsible for terrorizing communities in Oshimili North Local Government Area, arresting five suspects and recovering ₦5 million in ransom.
Police spokesperson SP Bright Edafe disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, stating that the recovered money was part of the ransom collected from one of the syndicate’s victims.
According to Edafe, on July 12, 2025, around 6:30 a.m., operatives from the Command’s Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad, led by CSP Godwin Osadolor, tracked the suspects to a hideout in Ogwashi-Ukwu. There, a suspect identified as Sanusi Abdulahi was apprehended with ₦5 million in cash.
Preliminary investigations revealed the group’s involvement in multiple kidnappings across communities including Ibusa, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Ubulu-Okiti, Issele-Uku, Issele-Asagba, and most recently, the abduction of a young woman in Ogwashi-Ukwu on July 9.
Following Abdulahi’s arrest, he led police to additional hideouts in Second Deputy and Oko, Asaba, where four other members of the gang were also arrested. Investigations remain ongoing.
In a separate operation on July 9, around 8:35 a.m., operatives of the CP’s Special Assignment Team raided a suspected kidnapper’s camp along the Patani-Ughelli Expressway, near the Unenurhie axis. The team engaged in a fierce gun battle with armed suspects, during which six were fatally wounded and later confirmed dead at the hospital. Two others remain hospitalized with gunshot injuries.
The suspects included Solomon Danisco (alias “Picolo”), Nelson Jacob, Oruma Saturday, Olise Jude, Precious Urhobowin, and Whisky Rufus (alias “Asawana”), a native of Ewu community. Police recovered four locally-made firearms and 19 rounds of live ammunition from the scene.
Commending the efforts of the officers, Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, warned criminal elements to steer clear of the state, emphasizing that Delta is no longer a safe haven for criminals.
