Kidnapper killed while negotiating ransom

Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have gunned down a suspected kidnapper while he was negotiating for ransom and rescued the victim. The command’s spokesman, SP Moses Yamu, said the suspect was neutralised on September 15, when operatives from the Ugbowo Division, Benin, responded to a distress call.

He said, “One Valentine Igbinevbo reported that his Mercedes Benz C350 car had been snatched at gunpoint, and his friend, Iyobo Ighodaro, was abducted along with the vehicle.’’

He said the police mobilised and led a surveillance team to track the suspects to their hideout in Egor bush on the outskirts of Benin and met the suspects negotiating for ransom using the victim’s phone.

He said the suspects opened fire on the police but that one of the suspects sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, while his second was believed to have escaped with gunshot injuries.

• Onaiyekan flays Tinubu’s reforms, says middle-class becoming poor
• Maiduguri flood: Dantata donates N1.5bn, NEDC N3bn to victims

He added that, “The police recovered the vehicle, one cut-to-size gun, one live cartridge, a cutlass and three phones.’’

Yamu further said that the victim was rescued unhurt and reunited with his family.