Police rescue five kidnapped church members
Operatives of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad of the Delta State Police Command have rescued five persons abducted by kidnappers in the state.
The victims were rescued after the police engaged suspected kidnappers in a gun battle in the Ubuluku and Ogwashi-Uku forests, according to the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe.
Edafe said, the rescued victims were members of a local Pentecostal church, Elyon Paradise Ministry, Ogwashi-Uku, who were kidnapped recently while attending a night service.
Edafe disclosed that the Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, ordered the deployment of tactical teams to Ogwashi-Uku with a clear mandate to ensure that the kidnapped victims were rescued unhurt.
Consequently, on February 25, the operatives, led by the Commander of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cybercrime Squad, Labe Joseph, embarked on a sting operation alongside members of the Ubuluku community vigilante group at the Ubuluku forest, where the victims were being held hostage.
According to Edafe, the kidnappers, on sighting the policemen, engaged them in a fierce gun duel.
He said, “They (the suspected kidnappers) took to their heels and abandoned the victims.
“Exhibits recovered from the scene included 13 rounds of expended cartridges as well as a bag containing the sum of N1,300,000, suspected to be ransom money.”
The police stated that a manhunt for the fleeing suspects was ongoing.
