Operatives of the Delta State Police Command's Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad have successfully apprehended a 26-year-old suspected kidnapper, Lawal Tasiu, who has allegedly been terrorizing communities in the Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku, and Issele-Azagba areas of Delta State.

Delta State Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, disclosed this information during a press briefing held in Asaba on Thursday, May 15, 2025. According to the Commissioner, the arrest followed a kidnapping incident at Itego Community in Ibusa, near Asaba.

"On 12/5/2025 at about 1030hrs, acting on credible intelligence relating to a kidnap incident at Itego Community, Ibusa, where one man was kidnapped and an undisclosed amount was paid as ransom, the Commander, Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad, swiftly mobilized operatives and stormed Koka Junction, Asaba," CP Abaniwonda stated.

The suspect, identified as Lawal Tasiu, a resident of FCT Abuja, was arrested after a hot chase by the police operatives. A search conducted on the suspect led to the recovery of N900,000, which he admitted was his share of the ransom collected from the kidnapping operation.

During interrogation, Tasiu confessed to being a member of a criminal syndicate responsible for numerous kidnapping incidents in the Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku, and Issele-Azagba environs of Delta State.

The police operation yielded further results when, on May 13, 2025, at approximately 6:30 am, the suspect led operatives to the syndicate's hideout in the Issele-Azagba area. At the location, police recovered an arsenal of weapons including one AK-47 rifle, one pump-action gun, two AK-47 magazines, and eighty-seven rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition.

The Commissioner did not disclose whether other members of the kidnapping syndicate have been apprehended, but investigations are ongoing as authorities work to dismantle the criminal network operating in the area.

This arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the fight against kidnapping in Delta State, which has seen several high-profile abduction cases in recent months.