By Emeka Amaefula
RIVERS FOREST RAIDS: SECURITY AGENCIES DISMANTLE KIDNAPPER HIDEOUTS
The recent abduction of the leader of the local vigilante group, OSPAC, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State has further heightened security concerns in the region, prompting an intensified and coordinated response from security agencies operating across the State.
Acting on renewed urgency and in line with directives from the Inspector-General of Police, the Rivers State Police Command, alongside sister security agencies, launched a decisive joint operation on 12th April 2026, targeting known criminal enclaves believed to be linked to kidnapping and other violent crimes. By 14th April 2026, the operation had evolved into a broader, sustained security clampdown across troubled areas of the State.
According to a press statement by Rivers State Police Command at about 1300 hours on the day of the initial raid, Tactical Teams of the Police, working in close synergy with the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, moved into identified hideouts in IPO and Igwuruta-Ali communities.
What they encountered told a troubling story. Hidden within these camps were weapons and tools of organized crime—one AK-47 rifle, a pump-action gun, 274 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, four cartridges, locally fabricated bulletproof materials, a large iron cutter, and communication radios—clear indicators of a well-structured criminal network operating within the forested terrain.
Investigators believe the recovered pump-action gun may be linked to the abducted OSPAC leader, deepening suspicions that the camps were not only operational bases for kidnappers but may also be connected to his disappearance.
The security forces wasted no time in dismantling the camps, razing them to the ground to deny criminals any future refuge. One suspect was apprehended during the operation and is currently assisting with ongoing investigations, while several others fled into the surrounding forest before security operatives closed in.
As the manhunt continues, authorities remain focused on tracking down the fleeing suspects and rescuing the kidnapped vigilante leader, whose abduction has cast a shadow over local security structures.
Reassuring residents, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, reiterated the Command’s firm commitment to safeguarding lives and property. He called on the public to remain vigilant and to partner with security agencies by providing timely and credible information.
To support this effort, emergency response lines have been made available: 07057605209, 07057605256, 08120822987, 07072323049, and 08032003514.
IPO town in Ikwerre Local Government Area, which hosts the Port Harcourt International Airport, remains a strategically important and heavily secured zone. However, its surrounding thick forests stretching towards Etche Local Government Area continue to pose security challenges, serving as difficult terrain where criminal elements attempt to operate.
For now, the message from security agencies is clear—operations will continue, pressure will be sustained, and there will be no safe haven for criminal elements in Rivers State.
———Emeka Amaefula ——+234(0)8111813069—
