Daud Olatunji
Operatives of the Abia State Police Command have recovered 28 human skulls and assorted human bones from two suspected criminal hideouts in forests around Umuaku-Isuochi and Nneato in Umunneochi Local Government Area of the state.
The shocking discovery was made during an intelligence-led operation involving tactical units of the command, including the Violent Crime Response Unit, Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Anti-Cultism Unit, Intelligence Response Squad, Isuochi Divisional Police Station and Rapid Response Squad.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Abia State, DSP Maureen Chinaka, disclosed the development in a statement on Sunday.
According to her, the operation was conducted under the directive of the Commissioner of Police, CP Wilfred Afolabi, as part of the command’s ongoing offensive against criminal hideouts across the state.
The operation is being conducted under the theme, “Operation No Hideout for Criminal Elements in the State.”
The police said tactical operatives stormed the suspected camps in the forests, forcing the occupants to flee before the hideouts were subsequently dismantled.
Chinaka said the recovered remains comprised 28 human skulls and bones, which the police suspect may belong to victims of kidnapping.
“Upon arrival of the command’s tactical operatives at the camps, the suspects fled. The criminal camps were subsequently dismantled,” the statement said.
It added, “A total of twenty-eight human skulls and bones, suspected to be those of kidnapping victims, were recovered.
“Investigation is ongoing, while monitoring of the area continues, and efforts are intensified to apprehend the fleeing suspects.”
The discovery has raised fresh concerns over the activities allegedly taking place in remote forest locations in Umunneochi, although the police have yet to establish the identities of the persons whose remains were recovered or conclusively determine how they died.
The command said forensic and investigative processes would form part of the ongoing investigation into the recovered remains.
The police also said efforts had been intensified to track down the suspects who escaped from the camps during the operation.
The Commissioner of Police reiterated the command’s resolve to deny criminal elements safe havens in the state, saying Abia would be made increasingly difficult for criminals to operate.
Meanwhile, the command appealed to residents to provide useful information about suspicious movements and criminal activities to security agencies.
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