The police have killed six members of a kidnap gang in a gun battle in the Fidiwo forest area along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, revealed this in a statement on Wednesday.
He said the suspects, who were killed on Tuesday, had been on the wanted list of the Ogun State Police Command for carrying out several kidnapping activities along the highway.
According to Oyeyemi, the suspects had earlier kidnapped two medical doctors working with the University College Teaching Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, while on their way to Lagos and they were later rescued by operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS).
He said the criminal act infuriated the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Iliyasu, who consequently ordered the officer in charge of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Uba Adam, to go after the hoodlums.
“In compliance with the CP’s order, the FSARS operatives embarked on technical intelligence investigation and the suspects were tracked down to their hideout in a thick forest at Fidiwo area along Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
“The hideout was stormed, consequent upon which the suspects engaged the men of FSARS in a gun duel which lasted about an hour. At the end of the encounter, six of the suspects were gunned down, while two policemen also sustained injuries,” the command’s spokesman said.
He added that the injured policemen have been taken to the hospital while the team recovered some items from the suspects.
They include one double-barreled shotgun, one single barreled long gun, several live and expended cartridges, as well as assorted charms and cutlass among others.
Oyeyemi said the police commissioner commended the gallantry and professional conduct of the police team and declared that Ogun State would never be a safe haven for criminals.
