At least, five suspected kidnappers were killed on Thursday, while three others escaped with varying degrees of bullet wounds when an 8-man kidnapping gang engaged police operatives in a gun battle in Ogun State.
The gang had allegedly opened fire upon sighting the police operatives that were on a rescue mission at the Odogbolu Forest along Sagamu-Benin Expressway to free a farm manager, Tunde Osifowokan who was earlier abducted since Monday from his poultry farm.
Commissioner of Police in the state, Abiodun Alamutu, who spoke with journalists in Abeokuta said three other members of the kidnapping gang escaped with bullet wounds after engaging the police in gun duel that lasted closed to an hour.
Disclosing that the kidnapped farm manager, Osifowokan was rescued unhurt, Alamutu also explained that the anti-kidnapping operatives of the Command had being on the trail of the gang since Monday when the incident was reported before they were eventually rounded up Thursday morning.
“At about 4.a.m on Thursday morning, our anti-kidnapping unit stormed the kidnappers’ hideout at Odogbolu Forest along Sagamu-Benin Expressway. The kidnappers engaged the squad in a fierce gun battle during which five of them were killed, while three others escaped with bullet wounds.”
The 8-man kidnapping gang had on Monday, stormed the poultry farm shooting sporadically after which Osifowokan, who is the younger brother of their target was abducted having realised that the owner of the farm was not available.
According to Alamutu, exhibits recovered from the kidnappers included N1.185 million cash suspected to be part of the ransom the kidnappers had earlier collected; a sword, cellphones, substances suspected to be hard drugs, charms, empty shells of AK47 riffle and sticks”.
The CP however, assured that the Command is intensifying efforts at bringing the fleeing suspects to book, warning that criminals who are hell-bent on testing the strong resolve of the police in the state will have themselves to blame.
