POLICE KILL KIDNAPPER IN DELTA, DETAIN THREE OTHERS

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Delta State Police officers killed a suspected kidnapper during a gunfight in a Delta town.

The operation, which also resulted in the arrest of three other individuals, yielded a lethal weapons cache.

SP Bright Edafe, the Police Public Relations Officer for Delta State Command, confirmed this in a statement issued in Warri on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the event occurred on August 12, 2024, when the CP Special Squad, based in Ughelli, launched an investigation with a previously captured suspect, Joel Ofoye.

The investigation led them to the Ewu community in Ughelli South LGA, in pursuit of a notorious gunrunner supplying arms to the kidnapping syndicate.

“While the operatives were on the trail, they came under heavy attack by the suspect’s gang members, who attempted to free Joel Ochuko,” the statement read.

However, the police forced the hoodlums to flee during a gun battle.

According to the statement, the injured suspect was immediately sent to the General Hospital in Ughelli but died as a result of his injuries while being treated.

The group surrendered a cache of firearms, including a Beretta handgun with four rounds of live ammo, a pump-action shotgun with nine cartridges, and a locally made revolver.

Meanwhile, the police have increased their crackdown on a kidnapping gang following the abduction of a 29-year-old victim in Kokori Community, Ethiope East LGA, on February 17, 2024.

The victim, whose identity is protected, was kidnapped at his Sapele home and the kidnappers transferred N5 million from his bank account.

After recovering his freedom, the victim reported the event to the police.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, has ordered a comprehensive inquiry.

Based on information provided by the victim, the CP’s Special Squad, commanded by ASP Julius Robinson, raided the hideout of one of the syndicate’s major members, known as “Sapiro,” in Sapele.

A search of the flat turned up another Beretta pistol.

The squad also arrested key members of the syndicate, including Tony Binitie, a.k.a. ‘Bobo,’ the gang leader from Big-Warri Community in Warri South LGA; Ejiro Ewuba, a native of Uwelogbo Community in Isoko LGA but residing in Sapele; and Ayuba Hussaini, a resident of Hausa Quarters, Sapele, who was the receiver of the victim’s stolen valuables.

Hussaini was also discovered to have received a N1 million transfer from the victim’s account.