The police in Abia State, South-east Nigeria, say they have killed five suspected kidnappers during a heavy gun battle in the state.
The police spokesperson in Abia State, Mauren Chinaka, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
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Ms Chinaka, a deputy superintendent of police, said a joint tactical team of the police killed the kidnappers when they raided a criminal hideout in Umuiku Obete, a community in Ukwa West Local Government Area of the state.
The spokesperson said the operation, which was conducted on 30 July, followed receipt of a tip-off that the kidnappers were terrorising residents of the area.
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“Upon sighting the operatives, the notorious gang engaged the police in a gun battle.
“Unable to withstand the superior firepower of the police, five members of the gang were neutralised during the encounter,” she said.
“Investigation is ongoing to track and apprehend other fleeing suspects of the gang.”
Six AK-47 rifles, 335 rounds of live ammunition,14 magazines, five handsets, three cutlasses, five operational jackets, one axe, one boot, and materials suspected to be charms were recovered from the suspects, according to the police.
Another operation
Ms Chinaka said, in another operation on Saturday, operatives from the Arochukwu Divisional Police Headquarters recovered a double-barreled long gun at Amuvi Village, Arochukwu.
“Investigation into the circumstances surrounding the recovery is ongoing,” she stated.
The spokesperson said the Commissioner of Police in Abia State Command, Danladi Isa, has reiterated the police’s commitment to eradicate crime and criminality in the state.
Mr Isa urged residents of Abia State to remain vigilant and support the police by promptly reporting anyone with gunshot injuries or any suspicious persons or activities for action.
Increased abduction for ransom
Like other states in the South-east, cases of kidnap-for-ransom in Abia State have increased in recent times.
Civil servants, business owners, politicians, and even students have recently become targets of such attacks in the state.
Meanwhile, kidnapping has been prohibited in Nigeria since May 2022.
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The country’s authorities enacted the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (2022), which outlawed all forms of kidnapping.
The Act prescribes a death sentence for kidnapping in a case where the abduction leads to loss of life and life imprisonment where there is no loss of life.
It was an amendment to the now-defunct Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act (2013), which had prescribed a 10-year jail term for kidnapping.
The new Act also prescribes at least a 15-year jail term for whoever pays ransom to free kidnapped victims.
Several persons have been convicted of kidnapping across Nigeria.
An Ikeja Special Offences Court, in September 2022, sentenced kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans, to 21 years imprisonment for kidnapping.
