By Abayomi Ife, Abeokuta
Operatives of the Ogun State police command have killed five suspected kidnappers and rescued a victim after a gun duel.
The victim – Tunde Osifowokan, a farm manager in Flourishing Poultry Farm, Idowa in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, was abducted by gunmen on Monday when they stormed the farm.
Osifowokan is said to be the younger brother of the owner of the farm, and was taken away when the gunmen could not locate the owner.
But on Thursday evening, police operatives stormed the Odogbolu forest where he was kept, killed five of the abductors during exchange of fire and rescued him.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Omolola Odutola who confirmed this in a statement on Thursday night quoted the Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alamutu as saying the police had been on the trail of the gunmen since the abduction took place.
“Following an organized coordination, the Anti Kidnapping Team in cooperation with the local hunters, forest guards as well as Vigilante and Amotekun, on the directives of the Commissioner of Police, CP Alamutu Abiodun Mustapha, that the detective track the kidnappers and endeavour to rescue the victim unhurt.
As soon as security deployments were ready, the detectives through a close monitoring, and surveillance disguised and laid in wait for the kidnappers, in a thick forest along Benin Sagamu expressway, safeguarding the seamless walk of the victim to a safe and recognizable location.
“When the Kidnappers on sighting the signaling of armed uniformed officers opened fire on security personnel with an intention to escape. Fortunately, other policemen strategically laying in wait, retaliated to the gunfire, the Kidnappers were over powered by the detectives superior gun power and five of the kidnappers were fatally injured, while three others escaped with life threatening bullet injuries farther into the forest.
No policeman was hurt except for minor bruises.
“All operational weapon of the kidnappers have been recovered, cash sum of one million one hundred and eighty five thousand, seventy naira suspected to be proceeds of crime, power bank, cells phones, sword, substances suspected to be hard drugs, empty shells of AK 47 rifle, criminal charm and sticks, all marked as exhibits.
“The lifeless bodies of the kidnappers were evacuated to the morgue and deposited at State Hospital for autopsy.
Efforts are being intensified to comb the forest for more clues to further arrest other fleeing suspect and recover their operational weapon,” SP Odutola stated.
