Ondo police rescue two kidnap victims, arrest three after gun battle
By Boye Oyeyemi
The Ondo State Police Command has rescued two kidnap victims and arrested three suspected members of a kidnapping gang following a gun battle in a forest around the Ifira-Idoani axis of Isua-Akoko.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying operatives also recovered N1.5 million suspected to have been taken to the forest as ransom. He added that two of the arrested suspects sustained gunshot injuries.
According to the statement, the operation followed intelligence received on Friday, September 11, that suspected kidnappers operating from a forest hideout were preparing to leave the area to collect ransom for their victims.
Acting on the information, operatives from the Isua Police Division, alongside personnel of the Ondo State Security Network, Amotekun, and Agbe-Koya, mounted surveillance and established an ambush along a route believed to be used by the suspects.
The police said the operation lasted several hours before about four suspects, armed with firearms, emerged from the forest at about 11:30 p.m. The suspects allegedly opened fire after noticing the security team, prompting the operatives to return fire.
During the exchange, the security personnel reached and rescued Owolabi Patrick and Asoto Dada, who were reportedly unharmed. The fleeing suspects, however, sustained gunshot wounds, while N1.5 million suspected to be ransom money was recovered at the scene.
The police intensified their search and intelligence-gathering efforts, leading to the arrest of three suspects around Idoani Road at about 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13. The suspects were identified as Abdullahi Abubakar, Ibrahim Abubakar and Oseni Abubakar, all residents of Akunnu. Two of them had gunshot injuries to their legs, while the rescued victims later identified them as members of the gang that abducted them.
The victims also identified a Bajaj motorcycle previously recovered by the police as having been used in the operation. Reacting, the Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, commended the personnel involved and directed that the case be transferred to the Special Anti-Kidnapping Squad in Akure for further investigation, including efforts to identify and arrest other members of the gang. He also assured residents that the command would continue intelligence-led operations to prevent criminals from using forests and other secluded areas as hideouts.
