Kidnap syndicate lures Rivers victims through dating sites, five arrested

The Rivers State Police Command said its operatives had busted a kidnapping syndicate, arrested five suspects and rescued a 24-year-old woman held by the miscreants along the Igwirita–Etche Road in Rivers State.

PUNCH Metro learnt on Tuesday that the young woman had travelled from Delta State to Port Harcourt to visit a friend when the criminals swooped in and whisked her off to an unknown destination.

According to the police, the suspects had been involved in several criminal activities, including luring victims from their locations through online dating sites before abducting them.

The spokesperson for the State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the suspects’ arrest and the rescue of the woman in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Tuesday and sent to journalists.

Agabe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said the arrest followed a complaint lodged over the kidnap incident, leading to a directive by the Commissioner of Police to go after the hoodlums.

The statement read, “The Rivers State Police Command has arrested five suspected kidnappers allegedly involved in the abduction of a 24-year-old woman, one Chinyere, along the Igwirita–Etche Road in Rivers State.

“On October 4, 2026, at about 0900 hours, the command received a complaint that one Chinyere had been kidnapped.

“The victim had reportedly travelled from Delta State to Port Harcourt on October 3, 2026, to visit a friend when she was abducted along the Igwirita–Etche Road.

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“Following the directives of the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, upon receipt of the complaint, operatives of the command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, Diobu, immediately swung into action and arrested the perpetrators of this crime.”

She gave the names of the suspects as Gift Okeregwu, 23, a native of Okehi Community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, who was arrested at his hideout along the Omuoda Pipeline, Allu, Port Harcourt, and Okeregwu Onyekachi, 27, a native of Okehi Community, Etche LGA.

Others are Bright Augustine, 27, a native of Akukabu Community, Etche LGA; Chijoke Nwalozie, 35, a native of Akukabu Community, Etche LGA; and Obinachi Rita, 26, a native of Rivers State.

“During the investigation, the suspects confessed to their involvement in the kidnapping and disclosed information about other kidnapping incidents within Igwirita and Etche.

“They further disclosed that they lured victims from within and outside Port Harcourt through online dating sites before abducting them,” it added.

Speaking, the State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, reiterated the command’s commitment to protecting lives and property and bringing perpetrators of kidnapping and other violent crimes to justice.

CP Adepoju urged members of the public to exercise caution when interacting with strangers met through online dating platforms, verify their identities before arranging physical meetings and promptly report suspicious activities to the police.