12th September, 2022
By Jethro Ibileke
A suspected kidnapper was on Sunday neutralized by operatives of Edo State Police Command during an ambush operation.
A statement by the Command’s deputy spokesperson, ASP Jennifer Iwegbu, disclosed that the operatives of Agbede Division encountered the hoodlums while on routine ambush operation along the pipeline axis of Ughiole forest in Etsako West Local Government Area of the State.
The statement added that the operatives “suddenly encountered some hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers emerging from the forest.”
The statement reads: “In operationalizing routine ambush techniques, Edo State Police command has yet recorded victory over beleaguered kidnappers in the Northern senatorial zone of the State.
“The hoodlums sensing the presence of police operatives, engaged them in a gun duel while trying to escape back into the forest. However, one of the kidnappers was fatally injured and later died. Others escaped into the forest with various degrees of gunshot wounds.
“Effort is ongoing to arrest the fleeing gang members as intense bush combing is currently ongoing,” the statement said.
Items recovered from the dead kidnapper include one locally-made gun, amulets, charms, and cash sum of ₦240,000.00.
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Abutu Yaro, has admonished the operatives to “dig into ambush attacks on kidnappers to rid the State of the vestiges of these undesirables, especially now that the Command is intensifying end-of-the-year security cleanup.”