The police command in Enugu says it killed two suspected kidnappers and rescued a kidnap victim at the outskirts of the metropolis.

The command said it recovered the victim’s black-coloured Lexus 350 SUV and one locally-made revolver gun loaded with four cartridges, including a locally-fabricated pistol.

This is contained in a statement issued by the command’s spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, on Tuesday in Enugu.

Mr Ndukwe said police operatives, led by the deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations, Olasoji Akinbayo, carried out the successful operation on August 20 at about 8:00 p.m. at Centenary Layout along Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway.

Mr Ndukwe said the police operatives were drawn from the NPF special forces, Awkunanaw police division and tactical teams of the command.

“Following the policing thrust and renewed crime fighting impetus of the state’s commissioner of police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, a combined team of police operatives rescued a male kidnap victim after a gun fight with the hoodlums.

“One of the miscreants, simply identified as ‘Baron’, was neutralised on the spot in the ensuing shootout, while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds. However, further manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang led to the discovery and recovery of the lifeless body of the second neutralised hoodlum,” said the police.

The police command added, “The second neutralised hoodlum was simply identified as Chukwunonso aka ‘Nolly’, in the morning hours of August 21 in a forest at the location of the gun duel.”

Mr Ndukwe said the two killed criminals had been on the watch list of the command.

According to him, the operational success was due to the swift response to a distress call on the kidnap of the victim along Agbani Road, Enugu, in the night.

The police spokesman commended the operatives for quickly adapting to his newly introduced crime-fighting strategies.

He said the commissioner had previously tasked police officers and other personnel of the command to sustain the tempo.

“There will be no breathing space for unrepentant criminals in the state, under his (Uzuegbu) watch as the commissioner of police,” he added. 

(NAN)