Police kill three suspected kidnappers – Official

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The Police Command in Delta State says it has killed three suspected kidnappers in the state.

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Bright Edafe, the command’s spokesperson, disclosed this to reporters in Warri on Friday.

Mr Edafe, a superintendent of police, said the suspects were shot dead on Tuesday by operatives of the CP–Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT) during a shootout.

He said that the CP-SAT, led by its commander, Robinson Julius, an assistant superintendent of police, was on a surveillance patrol on the Ughelli—Patani Road when they engaged the hoodlums.

“The CP-SAT team were conducting a covert surveillance patrol on the Ughelli – Patani Road.

“The police team flagged down an approaching shuttle bus by Ewhereni Junction.

“Upon sighting the operatives, the occupants of the vehicle opened fire in a bid to escape, leading to an intense exchange of gun duel,” he said.

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The command’s spokesperson said that three of the suspects sustained severe gunshot injuries while others escaped into the bush.

Mr Edafe said the injured suspects were taken to the hospital, where they later died while receiving treatment.

He said that one AK-47 rifle loaded with 18 rounds of live ammunition was recovered from the suspects.

Abduction-for-ransom has remained one of the prevalent crimes in many Nigerian cities, with almost everyone, including school children, being a potential victim.

Around April last year, gunmen abducted nine students traveling along a highway in Ughelli, Delta State.

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The police said the students were returning from their school in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, at night when they were abducted from the minibus they were travelling in. Their abductors released them some hours later, most likely after collecting a ransom.

The incident occurred about 24 hours after three students of the University of Calabar, Calabar, were abducted by gunmen.

The three students – Ojang Precious, a 200-level student of the Department of Medicine and Surgery; Ugwu Chukwuemeka, a 300-level student of the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology; and Damilola Dickson, a final-year student of the same programme were abducted at night from one of the university hostels inside the campus, PREMIUM TIMES reported.

In some instances, the abductions are staged by persons who want to extort family members, as was the case of a young woman who faked her kidnap in Delta last December.

(NAN)