The Rivers State Police Command says its operatives gunned down two notorious kidnappers, including a gang leader nicknamed ‘Occasion’ during a gun battle in a forest in Emuoha Local Government Area of the State.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, made this revelation in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, saying the operatives also rescued four persons blindfolded and found in the kidnappers’ den after spending two days in captivity.
Iringe-Koko added that the kidnapped victims were rescued after operatives subdued the hoodlums during an exchange of gunfire.
Meanwhile, one of the victims, a commercial driver, who spoke with newsmen, said he was on a routine trip back to Port Harcourt when he noticed an obstruction on the road caused by a huge tree trunk.
He said while driving, a car was in front of him, adding that as he was contemplating reversing, some men came out from the bush and fired bullets at the tyres of his vehicle and those of the car in front of him.
“The men, numbering six, asked us to lie on the ground and later grabbed us and took us through strange bush paths as they noticed a police van approaching. The police officers shot several times, but we were taken too deep into the forest,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, applauded the men of the command for their professionalism and persistence in fighting crime and criminality in the state.
He said the state police command under his watch would stop at nothing to rid the state of criminal elements.