Police rescue Bishop, wife from kidnappers

THERE was tension on Tuesday morning at Isheri Oshun area of Lagos State when suspected kidnappers engaged policemen in a gun duel during a failed attempt to abduct a bishop and his wife.

The Isheri Oshun incident occurred a few hours after a notorious kidnapper and armed robber, Timi, alias Big Fish, was killed during a gun battle in Ikorodu.

It was gathered that the heavily-armed gunmen had waylaid the bishop and his convoy and were about dragging him into their operational vehicle when policemen engaged them in a gun battle.

The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, confirmed the incident to Metro, adding that the kidnappers escaped with bullet wounds.

It was gathered that the bishop and his wife were, around 4:30a.m. on Tuesday, driving along Isheri Oshun road, when the kidnappers swooped on them.

The kidnappers were operating in a Honda saloon car when two of them came out of their vehicle and dragged the bishop and his wife out of his convoy.

Two policemen who were in the convoy of the bishop engaged the armed men in a gun battle, while calling for reinforcement from the Isheri Oshun Divisional Police Station.

The arrival of more policemen forced the gunmen to abandon their victims as they fled into the bush.

The state police boss said that the bishop and his wife were not hurt in the operation and that they had been reunited with their family.

The police boss said “what would have been a case of kidnapping / armed robbery was foiled as the bishop and his wife were rescued. We have since carried out raid on the area.”

The police boss also stated that men of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) had earlier in the day killed a notorious kidnapper in the Ishawo area of Ikorodu.

The police boss said “we got a distress call that a group of armed robbers were operating in the area and we sent some policemen there.

“When our men got there, they discovered that the local vigilance group had risen up to the challenge and faced the hoodlums squarely.”