The police in Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east, say they have arrested two male suspects who allegedly disguised themselves as land sellers to kidnap and rob their victims in the state.

Tochukwu Ikenga, the police spokesperson in Anambra State, said in a statement on Wednesday night that police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad arrested the suspects earlier on Wednesday.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, identified the arrested suspects as Onele Solomon, otherwise known as federal, and Simeon Chidera, also known as Chaplet.

He said the two suspects- both aged 23 – were members of a notorious kidnap gang in the state.

The spokesperson said the suspects had been allegedly involved in kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted murder in the state.

He said in one of their kidnap attacks, their victim escaped from captivity in Umudioka, a community in Dunukofia Local Government Area of the state.

“The two suspects on 31st May 2025, abducted the victim, dispossessed him of his personal belongings and inflicted life-threatening injuries on him with a machete.

“They also kept the victim in one of their criminal dens while demanding ransom from his family members and friends. Fortunately for the victim, he escaped from their den and was debriefed accordingly by the police,” he said.

He said the arrested suspects and other fleeing members of their kidnap gang specialised in luring their victims in the guise that they were selling land to them.

Mr Ikenga said the police in Anambra State had begun “onslaught operations” based on the confessions of the two arrested suspects.

He said the operations were intended to track down other fleeing members of the kidnapping gang and also to dismantle their criminal network in the area.

Like other states in the South-east, cases of kidnap-for-ransom in Anambra State have increased in recent times.

Civil servants, business owners, politicians and even students have become targets of such attacks in the state lately.

Beyond the kidnap attacks, gunmen said to be part of the Biafra agitation in the South-east have been terrorising residents of the region.

Several persons, including security agencies and government officials, have been killed by the attackers.

The outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been blamed for the frequent attacks in the South-east.

But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is seeking the secession of South-east and some parts of the South-south from Nigeria.