6 Shot Dead As Kidnappers, Police Engage In Gun Battle

Six suspected kidnappers were killed on Sunday during a gun battle with the  operatives of Edo State Police Command along Igbanke-Ewohimi Road in Esan, South East Local Government Area of the state in southern Nigeria.

The Edo State Police Commissioner Mr. Foluso Adebanjo, who displayed the dead bodies of  the suspects to journalists at the State Police Command in Benin, said the incident happened when operatives of the command went to the kidnappers’ den with four suspects.

The suspects had kidnap of a woman who was kept in a forest around the Igbanke-Ewohimi road.

“On getting to one of their hideouts, immediately our operatives disembarked with the suspects from the van, the kidnappers opened fire on them. The police engaged the gang in a gun battle and two of the kidnappers were shot dead.

“The other four suspects tried to escape  but they were fatally injured during the gun battle.

“One pump action gun with four rounds of live cartridges were recovered from them. Our men chased those who fled into the nearby bush with bullet wounds. We also embarked on a search around the scene and foreign currencies and arms were recovered,” Adebanjo said.

He said the injured suspects were taken to Stella Obasanjo Hospital for treatment but were certified dead by the medical doctor in the emergency ward of the hospital, adding “our men are still combing the bushes for those who escaped with bullet wounds.”

Items recovered from the kidnappers’ den include a “C-Class” Mercedes Benz car with registration number AGL 133 CX, $8,200; 20,000 Francs CFA; Five Dirhams (United Arab Emirate currency), N8,500, 12 sim cards, four cut to size single barrel gun, 72 live cartridges and one locally made revolver pistol.