Police in Rivers kill kidnapper, saving four individuals previously abducted
In a recent operation conducted by the Rivers State Police Command, two notorious kidnappers, including a gang leader known as ‘Occasion,’ were neutralized during a shootout in a forest located in Emuoha Local Government of Rivers State.
The operation also resulted in the rescue of four individuals who had been held captive for two days in the kidnappers’ den.
According to Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson for the command, the rescue mission was executed after law enforcement operatives engaged the criminals in a gunfire exchange, successfully subduing the hoodlums and securing the release of the victims.
One of the rescued victims, a commercial driver, shared his harrowing experience with reporters in Port Harcourt on the condition of anonymity.
The driver narrated how he encountered an obstruction on the road, created by a large tree trunk, during his routine trip back to Port Harcourt. As he contemplated reversing, armed men emerged from the bush, firing bullets at his vehicle and an Audi car in front of him.
The driver revealed that the kidnappers, numbering six, forced them to the ground and later escorted them through unfamiliar bush paths, evading a police van approaching the scene.
Throughout their ordeal, the victims were subjected to torture, and the kidnappers extorted funds from them, withdrawing N800,000 from one victim’s account and N1.9 million from another via their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and their families.
The police statement released by Iringe-Koko described the dramatic rescue scene, stating that gunshots echoed in the early hours of Wednesday, December 14, 2023, as four blindfolded men found themselves in a state of confusion.
Once the gunshots ceased, the victims were relieved of their blindfolds and discovered that they had been rescued from the clutches of the notorious kidnap kingpin, Sunday Amadi, alias ‘Occasion,’ who had a N2 million bounty on him by the Chairman of Emohua LGA.
The police, while searching for the victims, uncovered the kidnappers’ camp on the third day and conducted a thorough surveillance to minimize collateral damage before engaging the criminals. In the ensuing confrontation, two kidnappers, including the gang leader, were killed.
Commending the professionalism and dedication of the command’s personnel, the Commissioner of Police for Rivers State, Olatunji Disu, affirmed the commitment of the state police command under his leadership to eradicate criminal elements and ensure the safety of residents.