13-year-old kidnap victim rescued in Rivers, 2 suspects arrested

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have rescued a 13-year-old kidnapped girl and reunited her with the family.  Police spokesperson in the state, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement on Thursday, said the suspected kidnappers had demanded N2 million from the victim’s parents via phone calls, threatening that their daughter would be killed if […]

Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have rescued a 13-year-old kidnapped girl and reunited her with the family.

 Police spokesperson in the state, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement on Thursday, said the suspected kidnappers had demanded N2 million from the victim’s parents via phone calls, threatening that their daughter would be killed if the demand was not met.

She also disclosed that two suspects, including the owner of the sim card, have been arrested, while investigation is ongoing.

She said: “On June 7, 2025, at about 0930hrs, the Rivers State Police Command received a credible intelligence regarding a 13-year-old girl, who went missing on June 5, 2025 at about 1530hrs, while running an errand for her mother in Umuebule community, Etche Local Government Area. 

“The victim’s mother subsequently received ransom demands of N2,000,000 via phone calls threatening that the daughter would be killed if the demand was not met.

“Operatives from the C4i Intelligence unit promptly swung into action, arresting a 24-year-old female suspect from Igbo-Etche, suspected to be the subscriber of the SIM card linked to the ransom demands. The suspect had allegedly claimed that her phone was robbed on June 5, 2025.

“Further investigation on June 10, 2025 at about 1600hrs culminated in the arrest of the principal suspect, Chizoba Andrew Obi, a 36-year-old male. The kidnapped victim was rescued unhurt in a fenced forest at Umuechem community, Etche Local Government Area and the following exhibits were recovered; one locally made pistol and one live cartridge.

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a serial kidnapping kingpin operating with a four-man gang.

“As police operatives were being led by the suspect to the forest to recover their operational weapons, the gang members, on sighting the operatives, opened fire, prompting a shootout between them and the kidnappers. 

“The arrested suspect attempted to flee but was caught in the crossfire, while other members of the gang escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds. He was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) for medical treatment, but was pronounced dead by the medical doctor on duty. The corpse of the deceased suspect has been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.

“The victim was debriefed and has been reunited with her family.’’