THE Edo State Police Command said six kidnappers were killed on Wednesday during a gun duel in Uzea Forest in Esan Central Local Government Area of the state.
Spokesperson of the Command Bello Kontongs disclosed this to The ICIR on Thursday in a telephone interview.
Kontongs said the incident occurred on Wednesday morning during a collaborative effort between officers of the Nigeria Police Force and local vigilante who were tracking kidnap syndicates in the Uzea forest.
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“On 11/05/2022 at about 07:45hrs, the operatives of the Command in collaboration with local vigilante went on bush combing in an effort to track down, possibly arrest and recover arms from kidnap syndicates who are in Uzea Forest Uromi in Esan Central Local Government Area of the state.
“The kidnap syndicate sighting the team of operatives engaged them in a heavy gun duel, but the superior firepower of the team led to the death of two members of the syndicate,” Kotongs said.
He noted that the Command is yet to identify the names of the neutralised kidnappers.
Kotongs added that during the gun duel, four other kidnappers initially arrested in Ugboha and Ubiaja who were leading the operatives to the syndicate hideout sustained fatal gunshot injuries.
He said their names were Mohammed Amedu, Shaibu Lawal, Nasiru Mohammed and Mohammed Ibrahim.
Edo State has recorded several cases of kidnapping in recent times.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94
I was kidnapped on the road to Uzea on 03/09/2021 and led to the same Uzea forest with severe maltreatment. However, I was released after six days of captivity. May the almighty God continues to elevate the power of the combined team of security architecture in Edo state. Congratulations to Edo state security operatives.