“Mosquito”, Youth Corps Member, Army Officer Arrested for Robbery

Police Com­missioner, Taiwo La­kanu, yesterday in Ow­erri, paraded a serving army officer, Dim Chukwueme­ka, a youth corps member, Godwin Ogbenne; kidnap kingpin, Onyinyechi Ezeu­kwu, popularly known as mosquito for offences rang­ing from kidnap, armed robbery, rape, murder, and possession of weapons.Lakanu explained that the arrests were made in dif­ferent parts of the state fol­lowing useful information from the good people of the state.He disclosed that the ”˜Operation Wipe Out Crim­inals’ he initiated ahead of the Christmas festivities paid off and resulted in the arrest of Onyinyechi Ezeu­kwu, popularly known as “mosquito” whom he explained had been on the wanted list of his command, saying it was one of the best achievements he had re­corded since he arrived the state.According to him, Ezeu­kwu had unleashed terror on residents of Ohaji/Eg­bema Local Government Area through kidnap and rape, saying with the arrest, residents can now breathe a sigh of relief. However, Ezeukwu while speaking with newsmen denied in­volvement in crime or rape but admitted that he led an operation that kidnapped a woman who was only able to pay N40, 000 as ransom recently.The police Chief said, “Criminals are hereby warned in their own inter­ests to relocate out of Imo State or desist from their nefarious acts as the state will be too hot for them to operate. Any person caught engaging in any form of criminal activities will face the full wrath of the law.”On his part, the paraded army officer, Dim Chuk­wuemeka, alleged that he was innocent of armed robbery allegation and a pos­session of firearms, saying the locally-made pistol re­covered from him belongs to his younger brother who is currently now at large. The corps member, Godwin Ogbenne, a graduate of Soil Science from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri and hails from Delta State explained that though he is serving in Oyo State, he always comes to join his group to partake in armed robbery operations.According to Lakanu, “The command has suc­cessfully made arrests of over 40 suspects involved in various crimes, ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, unlawful possession of firearms, cult­ism, of which most of them have been charged to court for prosecutions. We have also recovered five stolen vehicles in the process “.