Suspected Kidnappers, Land Grabbers Apprehended by Edo Police

Two suspects connected to land grabbing and kidnapping in Benin, the state capital, have been taken into custody by the Edo State Police Command.

According to a statement made on Wednesday by Jennifer Iwegbu, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Command, the suspects provided insightful statements and would soon face legal charges.

According to the statement, “Messrs. Amos Abieyuwa ‘M’, 28, and Ochuko Newman ‘M’, 24, were arrested by Edo State Command operatives on October 11, 2022, at approximately 22:10 hours, from their hideout in Ulegun Community of Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, in support of the command’s determination to take the fight to the state’s criminal dens.”

They have been listed as wanted by the command due to allegations of land grabbing, kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, arson, murder, gunrunning, and encouraging communal war. They have also allegedly recruited armed men to wage war against the Edo State Government in the Oke-Oroma, Obazagbon, and Obagie communities of the state, where they have taken on the roles of arrowhead and mastermind.

During his statement, Ochuko Newman, one of the suspects, admitted that he and Abieyuwa are the masterminds behind various illegal activities, including gunrunning, armed robbery, cultism, land grabbing, and kidnapping of marines. He further confessed that Abieyuwa is in possession and control of two AK-47 rifles as part of the guns they use in their operations. Abieyuwa, in his statement, affirmed the confessional statement of Newman.”