The Imo State Police Command yesterday said it had arrested 16 suspects on the abduction of Nollywood actress and Special Assistant to the State Governor on Public Affairs, Miss Nkiruka Sylvanus.
Police spokesman Vitalis Onugu said the suspects were arrested during a raid of kidnappers’ dens in the forest.
Onugu said the suspects were assisting the police in their investigation. Miss Sylvanus was kidnapped in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Sunday evening by gunmen said to be in police uniform.
The abductors were also said to have driven a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) with tinted glass and siren. They reportedly shot into the air to scare the residents.
Miss Sylvanus (aka Ble-Ble) in reference to the character she plays in a flick: A Cry for Help, was said to be on location for a movie in Owerri when she was abducted.
The state government has directed security agencies to arrest any unauthorised person found using sirens and vehicles with tinted glasses. Rising from a Security Council meeting, Governor Rochas Okorocha said the renewed war against unauthorised use of sirens and tinted glasses is among the measures the council adopted to check crime, especially during the Yuletide.
The governor expressed sadness over the abduction of Miss Sylvanus. He said: “The perpetrators may have engaged in that wicked act to embarrass the state government and possibly make mockery of the intensified efforts of this administration and security agencies to end kidnapping in the state.”
Southeast members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) have demanded the immediate release of the actress. Nollywood actors, led by its National Vice-President in the Southeast, Ikechukwu Ezenagu, yesterday protested the abduction of Miss Sylvanus.
They barricaded the entrance to the Government House, carrying placards with various inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions read: Southeast governors, give Nollywood actors security; Insecurity is the bane of investment in the Southeast; Turn away from kidnapping and join Nollywood.