Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have successfully rescued a hotelier who was kidnapped and shot three times by his abductors during an attack that occurred on December 19, 2023, in the Artillery area of Port Harcourt.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Olatunji Disu, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the Command headquarters in Port Harcourt.
Disu revealed that the victim’s family paid a total sum of N25 million to the kidnappers, but they still refused to release him. Eventually, the family informed the C41 intelligence unit of the command, which promptly took action.
The commissioner said that the police had an encounter with the kidnappers towards the end of December 2023, but the culprits managed to escape. Subsequently, the kidnappers changed the colour of their operational vehicles at a panel beater after the escape.
On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, operatives of the command proceeded to the Agbonchia forest in the Eleme Local Government Area of the state, where they successfully rescued the victim.
Disu further said that during the rescue operation, one of the kidnappers sustained injuries while exchanging gunfire with the police.
He said that the kidnappers collected ransom in food flasks and assured that the Police were diligently tracking down other members of the gang to apprehend them.
The CP disclosed that both the injured kidnapper and the kidnapped victim are currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
