Two kidnapped foreign contractors have regained their freedom, the Imo State Government said on Monday.
The victims were kidnapped on December 9 along the Okigwe Road, a statement by Governor Hope Uzodimma’s media aide, Amaka Okafor said.
According to the statement, the kidnap victims regained their freedom through a combined effort of security forces.
“The victims were presented to Governor Hope Uzodimma this morning at the State Government House, Owerri.
“The state government is leaving no stone unturned in securing the lives and properties of Imo citizens,” the statement read in part.”
The spokesman of the Imo state Police command Mike Abattam, also confirmed the rescue efforts, saying it was made possible by the combined efforts of security patrol team who have been on the trail of the kidnappers since the abduction.
He said the victims have been presented to Governor Uzodimma at the Government House, Owerri.
The police spokesman noted that that security operatives in partnership with the state government is leaving no stone unturned in securing the lives and properties of Imo citizens.
Imo just like other states in the South-East region has been experiencing series of attacks by gunmen suspected to the members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The gunmen continue to launch attacks on soft targets, including security formations and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In the early hours of Monday, gunmen attacked the INEC facility along Port Harcourt Road in Owerri, the state capital. Four persons including one policeman lost their lives in the dastard attack.
Abattam told Channels Television that an investigation is ongoing to ascertain the group behind the heinous act.
“They are suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra. Presently, we are investigating. It is the outcome of our investigation that will determine those that will be held complicit,” he said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“We gave them a hot chase. The Command’s Tactical teams were able to follow them and in the process, we were able to neutralise three of them.”
The police spokesman said operatives were able to recover three AK-47 rifles, three pump action guns, two Improvised Explosive Device (IED), petrol bombs, charms and other dangerous weapons.
