Most wanted kidnap kingpin Kelvin held

The sensational reign of Niger Delta’s most
wanted criminal suspect came to an abrupt end
in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Tuesday
morning. He was arrested by operatives of the
Department of State Security (DSS).
Kelvin Ibruvwe’s arrest led to a gun battle
between his supporters and security operatives
in his Kokori, Delta State hometown
Wednesday afternoon.
Ibruvwe, who is popularly known by his first
name, was arrested at an undisclosed hotel in
the Garden City about 3:25am by DSS
operatives who stormed the city from Abuja
last Friday.
It was gathered that the deployment of the
special unit followed Ibruvwe’s pronouncement
of a 60-day ultimatum on the Federal
Government.
He is fingered in dozens of high profile kidnap
and armed robbery operations.
The suspect is also wanted for the death of 20
security operatives, including soldiers of the
Nigerian Army, mobile policemen, and three
Warri Prisons wardens, who were gunned down
in a brazen daylight operation in Warri.
A notorious kidnap suspect, said to be a close
ally of Ibruvwe’s, who was being taken to court
with other inmates, was freed by the gang.
The ultimatum to the Federal Government at a
rally in Kokori on September 18 may have
moved the authorities to go after the suspect.
To security agents, the declaration was a
desperate attempt by Ibruvwe to portray
himself as an ethnic warlord and activist.
“After he gave that ultimatum, the top echelon
of the nation’s security apparatuses felt that it
was time to bring him down. So, a special unit
was drafted in from Abuja to work with a
small, close unit of men on the ground.
“He was trailed to Port Harcourt. Having
positively ID-ing (identifying) him as the man
we were after, the 3 Battalion of the JTF (Joint
Task Force) was called in and placed on alert,”
a source privy to the operation told our
reporter.
The spokesperson of JTF’s headquarters in
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Lt.-Col. Onyema
Nwachukwu, confirmed the arrest of Kelvin in
a telephone interview with our reporter.
He said, “It is true that he (Kelvin) has been
arrested. He was arrested this (Wednesday)
morning by the SSS after he was smoked out
of his hideout by the JTF. It was a joint
operation with the SSS.”
A top official of the SSS in Delta State, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Well,
operatives of the service picked Kelvin as early
as 3am today (Wednesday) and he is in the
service’s custody.
“He has been escaping, but today (Wednesday)
his cup is full. Investigation is still going on,”
the SSS official said.
The Delta State Police Command expressed
confidence that the feat would further reduce
the rate of kidnapping in the state.
A statement signed by the Assistant
Commissioner of Police (Administration) in the
state, Onyire Kaneneolisa, said: “The arrest of
the kingpin will greatly mellow the on-going
battle against kidnappers in the state.”
Top SSS sources confirmed that Kelvin was
immediately moved from Port Harcourt to
Asaba, the Delta State capital, after his arrest.
Kokori community was tense yesterday.
A source, who was trapped in the community,
said: “Kokori is boiling as I am talking to you
now. The soldiers and the youths are
exchanging fire seriously. Many persons have
been killed. Everybody is running helter-
skelter.”
The source said the youths were armed with “
AK-47 rifles, pump action shotguns and even
dane-guns”.
It was gathered that trouble broke out when
troops invaded a shrine to arrest a juju priest,
who is fingered as a charm-maker for Kelvin
and his gang.
Security operatives said some youths resisted
the arrest and opened fire on the troops, a
development that sparked off an exchange of
gunfire.
After several hours of gun duel, the ragtag
local militias bowed to the superiority of the
troops, who arrested dozens of youths from
the community.
A high ranking military officer, who pleaded
not to be named, confirmed the arrests.
He said: “We arrested some suspects who will
be quizzed by detectives and intelligence
officers to ascertain the level of their
involvement in the fracas.
There is fear among some Urhobo politicians
and community leaders following Ibruvwe
arrest.
The Nation learnt that some of the panicky
leaders included those who had had dealings
with Ibruvwe.
“We know that he enjoyed the support of some
Urhobo leaders and even politicians from
other parts of the state. These people should
be really worried because if they are
implicated in his confession, they would face
the same consequences,” an SSS source said.
The arrest of the kidnap kingpin elicited
celebrations from Governor Emmanuel
Uduaghan and other top officials o f the state
government.
The governor was in a meeting with traditional
rulers in his office when he got details of the
arrest on Wednesday.
Sources at the event said governor Uduaghan
confirmed the cheery news to traditional
rulers and other government officials.