Operatives of the Nigerian Police have rescued 5 kidnapped victims in Kebbi State, North-West of Nigeria.
A statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Force headquarters, Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the Operatives also neutralised 5 members of a notorious gang in Abia State and recovered 6 AK-47 rifles, 335 rounds of live ammunition, 14 magazines, 5 handsets, 3 cutlasses, 5 operational jackets, an axe, a pair of boots, 1 polo charm, and 1 double-barreled long gun.
The statement noted the Nigeria Police Force in its efforts to boost internal security and protect lives and property of Nigerian citizens, resulted in the successful rescue of five (5) kidnapped victims, decimation of a notorious kidnapping gang, and the recovery of arms and ammunition.
The Police spokesman explained in the statement that armed kidnappers stormed Sangara Village in Shanga and Danko/Wasagu Local Government Areas of Kebbi State and abducted 5 individuals.
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During the encounter, the criminals were overwhelmed in a fierce gun duel and fled into the forest with various degrees of gunshot wounds, leading to the successful rescue of the 5 kidnapped victims.
It stated that Police operatives alongside other security agencies and local vigilantes launched a coordinated search-and-rescue mission, which led them to Shanga Hills, where the kidnappers were tracked and engaged.
It disclosed also that in Abia State, Police operatives acting on credible intelligence stormed a kidnappers’ den at Umuiku Obete Village in Ukwa West LGA.
The criminal gang, which had been terrorising residents and commuters along Umuozo Village and Uratta Road, off Port Harcourt Road, engaged the operatives in a gun duel upon sighting them.
The statement said, the superior firepower of the operatives proved decisive, resulting in the neutralizing of 5 members of the notorious gang and further search of the scene led to the recovery of 6 AK-47 rifles, 335 rounds of live ammunition, 14 magazines, 5 handsets, 3 cutlasses, 5 operational jackets, an axe, a pair of boots, 1 polo charm, and 1 double-barreled long gun.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has lauded the commitment of the officers involved in the operations, urging them to sustain the tempo and intensify the ongoing onslaught against criminal actors across the nation, the statement concluded.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
