Three kidnappers shot dead as police rescue victim in Ondo

By Boye Oyeyemi –

A combined team of police operatives and local hunters has rescued a 60-year-old man, Tijani Aremu, after a fierce gun battle with his abductors that left three kidnappers dead.

The Ondo State Police Command, in a statement by its spokesperson, DSP Ayanlade Olushola, said the operation was carried out by officers from the Ikare Division in collaboration with forest hunters.

Aremu had been in captivity for several days, with his family pressured to pay a ransom running into millions of naira.

During the shootout, one kidnapper was gunned down instantly and a single-barrel rifle was recovered. A subsequent combing of the forest led to the discovery of the bodies of two more fleeing suspects.

Two other suspects, identified as Yahaya Isa, 20, and Ismail Ismail, were arrested at the scene.

The victim was rescued unhurt and has since been reunited with his family.

Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, commended the operation, praising the synergy between the police and local hunters as a model of effective community-driven policing.