THE Plateau State Police Command has thwarted a kidnap attempt that occurred in Rantya, Jos South Local Government Area on Saturday.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Command Ubah Ogaba made this known in a statement, saying that a distress call had been placed to the police informing them of the attack.
“This afternoon, at about 3 p.m., we received a distress call that three gunmen invaded a compound in Rantya to kidnap their target or probably other persons in the compound.”
Ogaba also said one of the kidnappers was killed while the others fled with gunshot injuries resulting from a gun battle that ensued.
“On sighting the team, the hoodlums engaged them in a fierce gun duel where one of the hoodlums was neutralised, while others fled with various degrees of bullet wound,” he said.
He noted that investigations had already commenced and the police were on the trail of the fleeing gunmen.
Plateau state has witnessed an upsurge in banditry and terror attacks in recent times.
Between July 31 and August 2, at least 17 people had been killed and 250 houses burnt down in terror attacks carried out across the state.
Due to the recent attacks, curfew has been imposed by the state government on Jos South, Bassa and other troubled parts of the state.
Gunmen had defied the curfew last week and launched an attack on a village in Bassa Local Government Area (LGA), killing five people in the process and abducting four others.
Residents have protested the renewed attacks, but banditry and killings have persisted within the state.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.