Joy Anyim
The Ogun State Police Command has confirmed the death of two suspected kidnappers killed during a gun battle between police operatives and the kidnap syndicate.
The Nigerian Xpress gathered that operatives from the Ewekoro Police Division of the Command had received information that the gang was plotting to strike on Sunday, August 30.
On receiving the information, operatives were said to have matched to a forest in Itori area of Ewekoro Local Government, at about 7:30 am, where the armed hoodlums with face mask were sighted hibernating.
According to the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, “The suspects were found in a bush at the back of ICT polytechnic Itori. Couple with the fact that many suspected kidnappers have been traced to the same forest before, the Anti-Robbery team of Ewekoro Division was quickly dispatched to fish out the hoodlums.
“On sighting the policemen, the gang opened fire on them and the policemen engaged them in gun battle which lasted for about 40 minutes. At the end of the encounter, two members of the syndicate were gunned down while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
“Recovered from them were one locally fabricated shot gun, two live cartridges, two battle axes, empty shells of AK 47 riffle ammunition, three android phones, two small phones, eight pairs of slippers and two school bags.”
He added that the Commissioner of Police (CP), Edward Ajogun, has commended the gallantry display of the operatives, and warned criminals to stop testing the will power of the command under his watch.
“The CP warned that doing so will continue to spell doom for them. The CP also directed a massive manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang. He therefore reiterated the stand of the command to roll out all in its arsenal to wage war against crime and criminality in order to make Ogun state free of violent crime,” the PPRO said.
