Force Hqtr Approves Dismissal, Prosecution of 11 Policemen Involved in Kidnapping, Armed Robbery, Stealing in Rivers State

By Frank Zera, Lagos

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May 15, 2026, 8:35 a.m.

Force Hqtr Approves Dismissal, Prosecution of 11 Policemen Involved in Kidnapping, Armed Robbery, Stealing in Rivers State

The Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the detention of five police officers serving under the Zone Sixteen Command Headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, for alleged involvement in armed robbery, kidnapping, stealing, and official corruption. They include Inspector AYANNIYI JELILI, Inspector DUROJAYE FRANCIS, and Inspector OLAYEMI TITUS, who are alleged to have operated an illegal patrol and extortion syndicate within Rivers State. Others members of the criminal police team are Inspector AWELE OGBOGU, Inspector PROSPER AGHOTOR, and Police Corporal FAVOUR ONWUCHEKWA, who are all at large. The Force Public Relations Officer, ANTHONY PLACID, was the Rivers State Police Command Headquarters in Port Harcourt where he paraded the suspects before newsmen. PLACID said investigations into the activities of the rouge police team started on February 3, 2026, after one FESTUS SATURDAY filed a complaint, alleging that he was abducted, together with his brother, and robbed by the policemen along the Igbo Etche Road in Rivers State. The Force spokesman said the investigations confirmed that the policemen unlawfully obtained over Seven Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand Naira from FESTUS SATURDAY and his brother who was traveling with him. Speaking further, the Force Public Relations Officer, ANTHONY PLACID, also announced the dismissal of five police inspectors attached to the patrol unit of the Operations Department of the Rivers State Police Command for armed robbery, kidnapping, stealing, and extortion. ANTHONY PLACID identified the dismissed officers as Inspector JOHN OKOI, Inspector EYIBO ASUQUO, Inspector UDO NDIPMONG, Inspector BRIGHT NWACHUKWU, and Inspector ANELE IKECHUKWU, who are alleged to have abducted and robbed multiple victims of huge sums of cash and other valuables. The Force Public Relations Officer maintained that the management of the Nigeria Police Force views the actions of the dismissed police officers and those awaiting prosecution as a grave betrayal of the trust placed in them by the people.

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