Two men abducted by a gang of suspected kidnappers on Easter Monday in Aba, Abia State, have been rescued by the Abia State Police Command, just as one of the kidnappers was nabbed.
Metro learnt that the kidnap victims, Oliver Ogbonna and Ngene Raphael, were abducted at Nigerian Breweries area in Aba, with Ogbonna’s Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle with registration number AA 998 CV.
According to the state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, in a statement signed on his behalf by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Geoffrey Ogbona, the command received a distress call on Monday at about 5:30p.m, that the two men were whisked away by unknown gunmen.
The information, Oyebade said, prompted policemen at pin-down points and patrol teams to be on the alert.
“The hoodlums were intercepted by our Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), stationed at Orji Uzor Kalu Bridge while on stop-and-search duty, and in their bid to escape, they exchanged gunfire with the police, resulting in some escaping with bullet wounds,” the police commissioner said.
He added that the abducted men were rescued, while one of them, Raphael, sustained bullet wound.
Oyebade stated further that one of the fleeing suspects was nabbed by detectives from Ndiegoro Division.
He said that an AK-47 rifle with number 2230, 10 rounds of live ammunition and a Toyota Sienna van with registration number SMK 768 CT were recovered from the hoodlums.
Saying that the injured victim had been taken to the hospital for prompt medical attention, Oyebade assured that efforts were being made to arrest other members of the gang.