In what could best be described as a season of reckoning for criminals in Akwa Ibom State, the State Police Command, under the no-nonsense leadership of Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi, has smashed multiple criminal networks across the state — arresting 54 suspects and recovering a trove of arms, ammunition, stolen property, and cult paraphernalia.
Addressing newsmen at a high-voltage press briefing at the Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, CP Azare declared war on all forms of crime and criminality, vowing that “no criminal will sleep with two eyes closed in Akwa Ibom.”
“We have crushed cult cells, broken burglary rings, foiled pipeline vandals, neutralised pirates, and rescued kidnapped victims. This State is no longer fertile ground for criminals. We are watching, and we will strike—decisively!”
– CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi
THE HEAT IS ON: MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COMMAND’S ONSLAUGHT (May–June 2025)
- 54 suspects arrested, including:
- 30 cultists
- 7 suspected kidnappers
- 6 vandals
- 6 armed robbers
- 4 burglars
- 1 murder suspect
- Arsenal recovered:
- 18 locally made pistols
- 3 cut-to-size guns
- 2 double-barrel firearms
- 14 live cartridges and 8 empty shells
- Ammunition, machetes, charms, and cult uniforms
- Criminal properties recovered:
- 2 stolen vehicles
- Over a dozen solar panels, transformer coils, power cables
- Generators, household items, and burglary tools
- Stolen educational materials from public schools
- Items used for sea piracy and pipeline vandalism
TOP OPERATIONS THAT SHOOK THE UNDERWORLD
🔹 Kidnap Gang Crushed – A six-man interstate kidnapping syndicate from Bayelsa, Rivers, Ogun, and Cameroon was rounded up in Nsit Eket. A Lexus SUV and multiple phones were recovered. Victims were rescued.
🔹 Sea Pirates Sent Packing – In a dramatic sea battle, Marine Police operatives repelled a violent pirate attack along the Oron–Calabar waterways. Pirates opened fire but were overpowered, and their camp was raided.
🔹 Family Horror – A man was arrested for butchering his own 71-year-old mother in cold blood in Oruk Anam LGA. Police recovered the blood-stained machete.
🔹 Cultists Busted Statewide – From Uyo to Mbo, Ibesikpo to Abak, over 30 cultists were apprehended. Groups like Supreme Vikings, Kuklux Klan, Black Axe, and Mafia Confraternity were hit hard.
🔹 Vandals Nabbed at Work – From pipeline vandals in Edemeya to transformer thieves in Ekparakwa and cable thieves along Airport Road — no infrastructure saboteur was spared.
🔹 Burglaries Foiled – From supermarkets in Uyo to primary schools in Abak, burglars and their criminal receivers were busted, and stolen items returned to rightful owners.
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