The Edo State Police Command on Monday confirmed the killing of a suspected kidnapper during a routine operation near Ughiole Forest, in the Etsako West Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Jennifer Iwegbu, in a statement, said efforts were on to arrest other fleeing members of the gang.
The statement read in part, “In a routine ambush, the Edo State Police Command recorded victory over kidnappers in the Northern senatorial zone of the state.
“Operatives of the command on September 11, 2022, led by the DPO Agbede, while on routine ambush operation along the pipeline axis of Ughiole Forest in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, encountered some hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers emerging from the forest.
“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.”
In another development, the kidnappers of a prominent traditional ruler in Imo State, Eze Ndenkwo, have slammed a N200m ransom as the condition for his release.
The kidnappers reportedly made the demand on Sunday, two days after Ndenkwo was abducted in front of his office around Tetlow Road in the Owerri area of the state on Friday.
A source to the kidnapped monarch said Ndenkwo called one of his siblings through the monarch’s phone number to make the demand
The source said “The news is true. The kidnappers of His Royal Highness have called. They called his family for the first time since his abduction on Sunday.
“They asked the family to make available N200m on Monday. They called through his phone. I doubt where they will get that kind of money from.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Michael Abattam, said the command had begun an investigation.
