AWKA — The Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 25-year-old man, Emmanuel Chekwube Mark, over alleged involvement in kidnapping and armed robbery activities in the Ifite Awka axis of Awka South Local Government Area. The suspect was arrested in the early hours of August 27, 2026, by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, during an intelligence-led operation, with police saying the development has provided investigators with fresh leads in their efforts to dismantle a suspected criminal syndicate operating in the area.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, three firearms were recovered during the operation. The items included one locally fabricated pistol and two pump-action guns, as well as a military-pattern face cap. Police described the arrest and recovery as a significant breakthrough in their ongoing intelligence-driven operations against violent crime, particularly activities involving kidnapping and armed robbery within communities in Anambra State.
The command said preliminary investigation and interrogation indicated that Mark was allegedly a member of a four-man armed robbery and kidnapping syndicate believed to have been operating around the Ifite Awka area. Police alleged that other members of the group are currently at large, while information obtained from the suspect is being used to support efforts to identify and apprehend the remaining members of the alleged syndicate.
The police further alleged that Mark disclosed during interrogation that he and other members of the group had conspired to abduct unsuspecting members of the public within the area. Investigators also attributed to the suspect an account concerning a kidnapping incident on July 22, 2026, in which a victim was allegedly dispossessed of valuables before being murdered, with the remains reportedly abandoned in a bush.
The command said the alleged activities of the group involved a particular method of stopping and targeting victims. According to the police account, the suspects allegedly operated with a tricycle and would use it to block people they intended to attack. They would then allegedly create a confrontation by claiming that the targeted person had scratched or damaged the tricycle, using the ensuing argument as an opportunity to overpower the victim.
Police alleged that once the victim had been subdued at gunpoint, the suspects would force the person to their hideout at Umoji, Ebenebe. The command said victims were allegedly subjected to torture at the location and robbed of their valuables. The details form part of the preliminary information being examined by investigators as they work to establish the activities of the suspected group and determine the involvement of its members in the offences under investigation.
The arrest followed what the police described as credible intelligence gathered before the operation. Rather than relying solely on a response after an incident had occurred, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, acted on the intelligence to locate the suspect and recover the firearms. The command said the operation forms part of its broader intelligence-led strategy for identifying and disrupting criminal activities across the state.
The recovery of the three firearms is also central to the investigation because police believe the weapons may be connected to the violent activities being attributed to the suspect and the alleged syndicate. The locally fabricated pistol and two pump-action guns were recovered alongside the military-pattern face cap, and the items have been retained as part of the evidence being examined by investigators.
Following the arrest, the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, CP Nnanna Ama, ordered a comprehensive investigation into the case. He also directed the operatives to intensify efforts to track down the alleged accomplices who remain at large, with the aim of dismantling the suspected four-man network and preventing those still outside police custody from continuing their alleged criminal activities.
The police said the ongoing investigation would examine the information provided by the arrested suspect and pursue available leads concerning the other alleged members of the group. Investigators are also expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder allegation mentioned in the police statement and determine the extent of the suspect’s alleged involvement.
The command has not stated that the investigation has been concluded, and the allegations against Mark remain matters for the investigative and judicial process. The claims attributed to the suspect by the police will therefore have to be tested through the appropriate legal procedures as the case progresses.
The Anambra State Police Command said it would continue to sustain intelligence-led and proactive operations aimed at preventing and dismantling armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent criminal activities. The command maintained that such operations would be carried out across the state as security personnel pursue criminal networks and respond to intelligence concerning threats to residents.
For the police, the latest operation has produced both an arrest and the recovery of weapons while providing investigators with information that could assist efforts to locate other alleged members of the group. The focus now shifts to following those leads, apprehending the suspects still at large and establishing the full circumstances surrounding the activities under investigation.
The command also reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening security operations across Anambra, with intelligence gathering remaining a key component of its response to violent crime. In the case involving Mark, police said the information available to their operatives enabled them to target the suspect directly, while the subsequent recovery of firearms has added another significant element to the investigation.
As the investigation continues, the police are expected to pursue the alleged accomplices and examine the information provided during Mark’s interrogation. Authorities said the broader objective remains the disruption of kidnapping and armed robbery networks and the prevention of further attacks on members of the public in the affected areas.
The arrest and recovery operation therefore marks an ongoing stage in the police investigation rather than the conclusion of the case. With the suspect in custody and three firearms recovered, the command said its operatives would continue working to identify the remaining suspects and bring those allegedly connected to the activities before the appropriate authorities.
Police arrest 25-year-old suspected kidnapper, recover three firearms in Anambra
