The police in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, said they have rescued four kidnap victims in the state.
Tochukwu Ikenga, the police spokesperson in the state, said in a statement, on Saturday, that police operatives intercepted a suspected kidnap gang on Friday while they were taking the victims through an exit route from the state.
Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the operatives were on patrol with local vigilantes when they intercepted the hoodlums along the Amagu-Awgbu Road in Orumba North Local Government Area of the South-eastern state.
“The gang, which opened fire sporadically on sighting the patrol team, bowed to police-vigilante superior firepower. Two of the three vehicles the gang operated with were demobilised,” he said.
The police spokesperson said some members of the gang escaped through the third vehicle while others fled into a nearby bush “on foot with bullet wounds.”
One pump action gun and two SUVs – a Toyota Highlander and a Mercedes Benz GLK 350 4Matic – were recovered from the suspects during the operation, according to the police.
Rescue of the victims
Mr Ikenga said the police operatives alongside the vigilantes rescued the victims after the suspected kidnappers fled the scene.
“Four abducted victims were rescued unhurt from the gang. Preliminary debriefing to ascertain circumstances of their abduction are ongoing,” he said.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Aderemi Adeoye, according to the statement, described the rescue of the victims as “heroic.”
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Mr Adeoye commended the “effective collaboration between the police and vigilante” in the operation.
The police commissioner directed that the case be transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the police in the state. He asked the unit to deploy its expertise in tracking down fleeing kidnappers.
He assured that the police in Anambra State will work hard with other security agencies and community leaders to fight criminality in the state, stressing that the safety of residents would remain their priority.
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