The Enugu State Police Command has arrested two sisters, Juliet Chukwu and Ngozi Nancy Chukwu, over allegations of orchestrating the abduction of their elder brother, Mr Friday Chukwu.
Juliet, an officer with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Ngozi, serving with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), are accused of planning the kidnapping, which occurred last month along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway near the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, in Nkanu West Local Government Area.
Sources close to the matter said their actions led to a ransom payment of ₦30 million for Mr Chukwu’s release. The victim is from Amaeze village in Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area, Ebonyi State.
Further investigations have reportedly linked the sisters to the recent abduction of Engineer Dennis Igwe, General Manager of China Oriental Mining Company. Igwe was kidnapped in the same area earlier this week, and a ₦10 million ransom was allegedly paid.
Police operatives apprehended Juliet and Ngozi in a hotel where they were said to have been caught while attempting to share the ransom proceeds. Four other suspected members of the group are still on the run.
Confirming the arrests, the Chairman of Ivo Local Government Area, Chief Emmanuel Ajah, said he had written to both the Enugu State Police Command and the Ebonyi NSCDC regarding the incident.
“Though the incidents occurred outside my jurisdiction, the safety of our people remains a top priority,” he stated.
Local sources suggest the sisters may be connected to broader criminal activities in the Ishiagu area, including vandalism and collaboration with external criminal groups.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Ebonyi State Police Command were unsuccessful, as Police Public Relations Officer SP Joshua Ukandu had yet to respond to inquiries as of the time of filing this report.
Police confirm that investigations are ongoing, and efforts to apprehend the remaining suspects continue.
