C’River youths nab two suspects, rescue kidnapped toddler

A two-year-old boy kidnapped from the Bunyia Iruan community in the Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State has been rescued after two suspected kidnappers were apprehended by youths in the Ogberia Ochoro community in the Mbube area of the Ogoja Local Government Area.

The suspects, identified as Suahnen Lorlumun, 17, and Sekeghshie Silas, 17, were taken to the Okubuchi Police Outpost by the Clan Head of Bunyia Irruan amid concerns that they could be lynched by youths in the area.

The state police command Public Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, confirmed the incident in a statement issued to journalists on Thursday in Calabar.

Eitokpah said the command was aware of the incident and that the suspects were taken to the police outpost for their safety.

“The Cross River State Police Command is aware of an incident involving two young men, namely Suahnen Lorlumun, 17, and Sekeghshie Silas, 17, who were brought to the Okubuchi Police Outpost by the Clan Head of Bunyia Irruan, for their safety following concerns that they could be lynched by youths in the area,” the statement read.

He said the two suspects were subsequently released into the custody of the Clan Head, alongside three officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons from Calabar.

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“The command further confirms that the two young men were subsequently released into the custody of the Clan Head, in the company of three officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons from Calabar,” the statement said.

An eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the suspects were apprehended by members of the community vigilante group while allegedly attempting to take the boy through the community.

“When we noticed that they were trying to take the boy across our community, we had to stop them. We stopped the two of them and arrested them by our community vigilante group,” he said.

The eyewitness said the suspects were subsequently taken to the village square, where they were tied to a concrete wall fence and beaten before the police arrived.

The boy was said to have been kidnapped two days earlier in the Bunyia Iruan community in Boki Local Government Area.