The Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a 35-year-old suspect, Ewulu Chikwo, following a raid on a criminal hideout in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the operation was carried out by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad and Anti-Kidnapping Unit on April 25. The raid was based on credible intelligence indicating that a group was plotting to enforce an illegal sit-at-home order in the area.
Ikenga revealed that the suspect, a native of Osumoghu Isieke Village in Ihiala LGA, is allegedly affiliated with the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). He further disclosed that Chikwo had confessed to participating in the deadly 2022 attack on the Ukpor Divisional Police Headquarters, during which a female officer, Inspector Stella Maris, was killed.
In his words:
“Police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad/Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on credible information on April 25, busted a criminal camp at Ukpor.
They arrested one Ewulu Chikwo ‘m’ aged 35 years from Osumoghu Isieke Village, Ihiala LGA. The suspect and his gang members were allegedly planning to enforce an illegal sit-at-home in the area the following Monday.
During the interrogation of the suspect, he confessed to being a member of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra and also among the armed criminals that attacked the Ukpor Divisional Police Headquarters in the year 2022, where a policewoman, Inspector Stella Maris, was gruesomely murdered.”
Following the arrest, the Joint Security Force has ramped up patrols in the area. The police command also assured residents that it remains committed to acting swiftly on any credible intelligence, particularly in efforts to apprehend other members of the gang.
