The police said about 30 kidnappers terrorising Enugu and its environs were killed in shoot-outs with security operatives at various locations across the state in the past two weeks.
Among those caught in the crossfire were members of the Biafra Auto Pilot, otherwise called Unknown Gunmen, a breakaway faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by the Finland-based Simon Ekpa.
Quoting a police source Wednesday, Governor Peter Mbah’s media office said a Police Superintendent, SP Onochie Ezeh, led a joint security operation to rescue some kidnap victims at Ugwuogo Nike-Opi Road in the early hours of Wednesday.
The operation, the statement said, led to the killing of a seven-man gang kidnappers at Ogbeke Nike where they used a large poultry farm to hide their hostages.
Ezeh said the feat was part of the sustained operations in the state to flush out criminals operating from other neighboring states, including kidnappers, unknown gunmen and other unscrupulous elements.
He said: “We were on the trail of these kidnappers for more than three months now. They had been operating within this axis where they kidnapped their victims and kept them at a large poultry farm at Ogbeke Nike until ransoms are paid.
“So, on a tipoff from members of the public who suspected the strange movements in the area and the accounts of some of the victims of these criminals, we swung into action. On sighting us, these men of the underworld opened fire on my men, and we quickly retaliated and overpowered them with our superior firepower.”
He said the combined security task force, set up by the Governor Mbah, as a tactical squad against kidnappings and activities of unknown gunmen, also recorded some breakthroughs in policing the state and flushing out criminal elements.
The police chief said: “This is a gallant crack squad with the mandate to eliminate every form of threat in the state. We have recorded huge successes over the past months. You know our role is not to rush to the media to tell our story but to ensure that every citizen and resident of the state has peace.
“I can tell you that we have already neutralized over 7 criminal gangs who were mostly kidnappers and unknown gunmen. We are going after them. We are taking the battle to their doorsteps because the governor said we should not come back home if we don’t completely rid the state of threats.
“So we are on it. In fact, during our operations, we identified many criminal hideouts that serve as rogue premises where kidnap victims and dangerous weapons are kept. These places include New Artisan Market, Akwuke community, Akegbe-Ugwu, Four Corners, Awgu, Mgbowo, Emene, Eke and Afa in Udi and some parts of Isi Uzo local government. During rescue operations, we were able to neutralize over 30 of the kidnappers and recovered guns and valuables.”
Narrating her experience and the trauma she passed through in the kidnappers’ den, a survivor, Dr Kate Pamela, said: “Each time I pass through that poultry, I feel I have been denied justice by still allowing it to operate. They kidnapped us and kept us there for five days. They even killed two of the victims because their families could only afford ten million naira each against the fifty million naira demanded. Notwithstanding that I was able to identify the bodies of three of the kidnappers when they were killed; I still feel that the area should be cleared. Government must ensure justice by turning that place to a landfill.”
