Kidnapper Shot Dead As Anambra Police Rescue Five Victims In 3 Days

In the past three days, security operatives in Anambra State have conducted three operations to rescue kidnapped persons, with the most recent one reported to have taken place in the Ihiala area of the state.

The latest victim, who was blindfolded and transported on a tricycle, was discovered by a joint security team consisting of the police, military, and Ihiala vigilantes during a patrol on Monday evening.

The police, the leading security agency in the state, noted that joint operatives found a black shuttle with registration number RSH 255MS driving suspiciously and intercepted the vehicle.

“In an attempt to stop the vehicle, the armed occupants opened fire on the Joint Security team,” the police revealed in a release on Tuesday, signed by its spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga.

“During the gun duel, the Joint Security team demobilised one of the armed assailants while four others abandoned the shuttle bus and escaped with various degrees of bullet wounds via a nearby bush,” the police added.

The operatives subsequently searched the vehicle and found the blindfolded victim, suspected to have been kidnapped.

The victim was tied on the hand and legs while his mouth was sealed. He was rescued afterwards and given first aid and debriefed by the Police Operatives, read the statement.

The vehicle was also recovered while the joint security team was still on a manhunt for the criminals at large.

The command has asked proprietors of private and public hospitals to admit, but report any individual presented with bullet wounds or injuries of a suspicious nature to the nearest Police Station.

THE WHISTLER reported the rescue operations of the command from Saturday to date involving three commuters kidnapped along Onitsha/Owerri expressway and a catholic priest kidnapped in the Ichida area of the state.

Between January 4 and March 22, no fewer than 10 people have been reportedly abducted in the state, according to Beacon Consulting, a security and assessment Tink Tank.

The data on its website as of Tuesday, showed that no fewer than 36 people have died within the period under review.

The statistics further showed that the state recorded a total of 35 incidents of attacks within 15 local government areas in the period in view.

However, the police command said it remains committed to maintaining security dominance through sustained patrols and targeted security operations in the State.