The Anambra State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed it recovered some firearms from kidnappers in the state.
The kidnap suspects have also been arrested, a statement by the command spokesman, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, confirmed.
Naija News understands from the police report that the suspects were responsible for the kidnap of one Ijideofor Attama, 32.
Attama was said to have been kidnapped along Nnewi road last week, and a ransom of N10million was demanded by his abductors.
However, the victim escaped from the kidnappers before the requested ransom was released.
Giving an insight on the incident, Ikenga in a statement made available to newsmen said: “Anambra State Police Command operatives, on 17/5/2022 rescued a kidnap victim, one Ijideofor Attama, aged 32yrs ‘M’ from Igboetiti of Enugu State.
“Mr Attama was abducted on 14/5/2022 at about 10pm along Nnewi road in his Rava 4 jeep, by a gang of five armed men operating with a Toyota Sienna vehicle, with Registration number KGE 117 PZ Imo State, ash Colour and whisked away to an unknown destination.
“The kidnap gang were in fact already asking for Ten million naira ransom from the victim’s family but fortunately, the victim escaped from where he was kept and alerted the security guards in the area. The police operatives were also contacted and immediately came to his rescue.”
Naija News understands that the police after rescuing the victim, went after the two of the suspects, one Chukwudere Eze, aged 30years, ‘M’ of Ogbunka in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State and Raphael Obasi, aged 40years, ‘M’ of Arondizuogu in Imo State.
The security operatives were also able to recover a brown Toyota Sienna from the suspects.
Ikenga’s statement further revealed that the force on 16/5/2022, at about 4:30 pm while responding to a distress call on the attack on the vigilante office, engaged some hoodlums in a gun duel along Ifite road, Awka.
The Police spokesman said the criminals while attempting to flee from the Police operatives, abandoned three of their vehicles, one brown Lexus Jeep, black Toyota Corolla, without registration number and a brown Mercedes Benz, with registration number AA 274 EYF.
The statement added: “Unfortunately, during the encounter four vigilante operatives sustained fatal wounds. The Police also recovered one automatic Pump action gun, thirty rounds of AK-47 live ammunition, six live cartridges and one live SMG ammunition.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng has restated the Command’s unwavering commitment to the fight against crime and criminality in Anambra State and calls for continuous support, especially through timeous information to the police and other law enforcement agencies.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News