Police arrest two kidnap suspects in Northern Cross River

2026-02-15 - 13:10

By Emma Una OGOJA — Police in northern Cross River State have arrested two suspected kidnappers, Chononso Nwibo, 26, and Richard Innocent, 24, for allegedly abducting a teenager over the weekend. Sources said the suspects, both from Ebonyi State, lured the victim — whose name is withheld — from Abuja to Yahe, a town in Yala Local Government Area, where they held him captive and demanded ransom from his mother. A youth leader in Yahe, identified as Joe, told reporters that the suspects met the teenager in Abuja and promised him a lucrative business opportunity in Ogoja, claiming he could make millions within six months if he partnered with them. “They convinced the boy to travel to Ogoja for the supposed business. When he said he had no transport fare, they instructed him to go to the motor park, where they transferred money to the driver who brought him to Ogoja,” Joe said. According to the source, upon arrival, the suspects took the teenager to Yahe, where they sought accommodation from a villager, identified as Odey, claiming they were en route to Abakaliki but were delayed by nightfall. The villager reportedly offered them a room. Joe said the situation changed once they were inside. “The moment they entered the room with the boy, they confiscated his phone and told him he had been kidnapped,” he said. The suspects allegedly forced the teenager to call his mother and demanded a ransom of ₦10 million, threatening to kill him if she failed to comply. The woman reportedly offered ₦4.5 million, but the kidnappers insisted on ₦8 million. The victim later escaped in the early hours of the morning after his captors, reportedly drunk, fell asleep. “At about 3:00 a.m., the boy noticed they were in a deep sleep. He retrieved a key from one suspect’s pocket and attempted to open the door. When one of them woke up, the boy grabbed a piece of wood and struck him before fleeing,” Joe narrated. As he ran, the suspects reportedly chased him, shouting “thief,” while the teenager cried out “kidnappers.” He eventually sought refuge in a nearby house, where a resident alerted local youths. The youths apprehended the suspects after the victim explained his ordeal. Police were subsequently called, and the suspects were taken into custody at the Yahe Police Station. A police source confirmed that the suspects are expected to be transferred to Calabar for further investigation.