Delta State Police operatives have killed five suspected kidnappers who had been terrorizing Ubulu-Uku, Issele-Uku, Issele-Asagba, and surrounding areas.
The police spokesperson for the state, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed the development in a statement on Sunday.
According to Edafe, the police acted on credible intelligence and raided one of the kidnappers’ hideouts in the Agu-Amawbia forest, located in Anambra State.
During the operation, the police recovered one AK-47 rifle and 132 rounds of live ammunition.
The investigation led the officers to another hideout in a forest between Issele-Asagba and Otulu, where the kidnappers, led by one Bellow Abubakar, were preparing an ambush.
When the police arrived, the criminals opened fire, triggering a fierce gun battle. The operatives, fully prepared for the confrontation, returned fire.
Unable to withstand the police’s superior firepower, the suspects scattered in various directions, many of them wounded by gunfire.
Five of the suspects, including Abubakar, who was unable to escape due to the severity of his injuries, were taken to a nearby hospital but were later confirmed dead.
In the aftermath, the police recovered two additional AK-47 rifles and 18 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition from the forest.
A search for the other suspects, who are believed to have fled with injuries, is ongoing.