The Delta State Police Command has arrested four suspected members of a gun-running syndicate allegedly connected to the recovery of an illegal Beretta pistol in Effurun, Uvwie local government area.

Delta State Commissioner of Police, Yemi Oyeniyi, during a press briefing in Asaba, said the suspects were apprehended during intelligence-led operations carried out in Bayelsa and Imo States.

He said the arrests followed investigations into a Beretta pistol recovered at a transport park in Effurun on May 1, 2026.

“The first suspect, Emmanuel Chukwuemeka, was arrested in Bayelsa State on May 4 alongside his roommate, whose phone was allegedly used to facilitate communication for the firearm transaction. Police investigations revealed that Chukwuemeka allegedly purchased the pistol from one Amadi Princewill for #290,000 before reselling it to a suspect identified as Desmond, who is currently at large, for #380,000.”

Continuing, CP Oyeniyi said, “Desmond reportedly arranged for the weapon to be transported to Effurun and contacted the now-deceased Oghenemine Ogidi to retrieve it and forward it to Sapele.”

Acting on information obtained during interrogation, police operatives tracked and arrested Amadi Princewill in Imo State on May 15.

He stated that further investigations led to the arrest of another suspect, Amadi Felix Chibuike, in Owerri on May 16 after Princewill allegedly confessed to obtaining the firearm from him.

He said, “The fourth suspect arrested in connection with the syndicate is Clifford Boleyelefa”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a self-styled native doctor, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo, and his wife, Awolegan Omolola Omotola, before a Federal High Court sitting in Ado-Ekiti over an alleged N1.09 billion contract scam.

The couple were arraigned by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC before Justice Abubakar Usman on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretences and retention of proceeds of crime.

According to the EFCC, the defendants were arrested following a petition by Anazia Colina Kenechukwu, a widow and proprietor of a private school in Delta State, who alleged that Taiwo persuaded her to finance a road construction contract he claimed had been awarded to him by the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission.

The anti-graft agency said its investigation revealed that the defendants allegedly obtained N1,098,961,500 from the complainant and used part of the proceeds to acquire properties in Ado-Ekiti, including Town Tavern Lounge and a four-bedroom bungalow.

One of the charges read in court stated: “That you, Olorunbukunmi Taiwo and Awolegan Omolola Omotola, sometime between January 2024 and November 2025, in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N1,098,961,500.00 from one Anazia Colina Kenechukwu.”

The charge further alleged that the money was received through Taiwo’s Access Bank account after the defendants falsely claimed it would be used for a DESOPADEC road project.

According to the charge, the funds were obtained “by falsely representing that same would be used to execute a road construction contract awarded to you by the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), a pretence you knew to be false.”

The EFCC also disclosed that it had secured an interim forfeiture order on the two properties allegedly acquired with proceeds of the fraud on May 25, 2026.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all six counts when the charges were read to them.

Following their plea, EFCC counsel Sesan Ola urged the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendants pending further proceedings.

Justice Usman subsequently adjourned the matter until June 11, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial.

The court also ordered that the defendants be remanded in EFCC custody pending the determination of their bail request.

A woman identified as Oluchi, who was earlier reported missing and believed to have been kidnapped in Edo State, has been discovered in a hotel in Delta State alongside a man said to be her lover.

The revelation came after family members and friends had mounted efforts to secure her freedom following ransom demands allegedly made after she disappeared.

Relatives had initially reported to the police that Oluchi was abducted in the Ikpoba Hill area of Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State.

Following the reported abduction, her children, including a daughter living in Canada, appealed for public support to raise funds after the suspected abductors allegedly demanded a ransom of N50 million, later reducing it to N20 million.

However, police investigations reportedly led operatives to a hotel in Ubiaroko, Delta State, where Oluchi was eventually located.

A source familiar with the investigation disclosed that detectives traced a phone number connected to one of the suspects to the hotel.

“Police traced the number of the man to a hotel in Ubiaroko, Delta State. They met the man and the kidnapped woman inside a hotel,” the source said.

The source added that the woman’s husband was subsequently informed after officers uncovered the situation.

Reacting in a video that has since circulated widely online, Oluchi’s daughter, Anita, said the family was shocked by the outcome of the investigation and described the experience as devastating.

“My mum has been released. My mum is involved in this kidnapping case. I only did what I did to save my mom,” she said.

Anita explained that the family had worked closely with security agencies throughout the period and had not paid any ransom before her mother’s recovery.

“We were called that my mum has been released. We didn’t pay the kidnappers. The money is intact. We are going to make a refund. We involved the Police from the beginning. We now know it was not a real kidnapping,” she said.

She further claimed that investigators informed the family that her mother and another individual allegedly planned to benefit from part of the money that had already been raised.

“They said my mom is involved. They are having a relationship. The guy was traced. They had agreed to take what we already raised to N20m,” she said.

Describing the emotional toll on the family, Anita said the incident had left them deeply distressed.

“This has shattered my family. My dad has some health issues. This is so unfortunate,” she stated.

The Harmony Ladies Club, a group Anita belongs to, also expressed disappointment after learning the outcome of the police investigation.

In a statement shared on the group’s WhatsApp platform, members said they had offered emotional, financial and logistical assistance when news of the alleged abduction first emerged.

“When news of her alleged abduction broke, the club acted swiftly in good faith. Out of sisterhood, love, and a sense of community responsibility, we rallied immediately,” the statement read.

The group said it was stunned by the findings that later emerged from the investigation.

Confirming the development, spokesperson of the Edo State Police Command, CSP Moses Yamu, disclosed that four suspects had been arrested in connection with the matter.

“I can confirm the incident and also let you know that four people have also been arrested in connection with the incident,” he said.

Police authorities said investigations are still ongoing to unravel the full circumstances surrounding the case.