Kidnapping has become one of the prevalent crimes in many Nigerian cities.
The police in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, on Sunday, killed two suspected kidnappers in a forest around Centenary City along the Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressway in Enugu South Local Government Area of the state.
The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement on Monday night, said police operatives also rescued a kidnapped male victim at about 8 p.m. when they raided the suspects' hideout in the forest
Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the operation was in response to a distress call that the victim had been kidnapped along Agbani Road in the council area.
The police spokesperson said the operatives were drawn from the Special Forces Unit of the Awkunanaw Police Division and Tactical Teams of the State Police Command.
He said the combined team was led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police In-charge of Operations, Olasoji Akinbayo.
How they were killed
Mr Ndukwe said on arrival at the criminal hideout; the suspects opened fire on the operatives, who equally responded, resulting in a heavy shoot-out.
"One of the miscreants, simply identified as 'Baron,' was neutralised on the spot in the ensuing shootout, while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds," he said.
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The police spokesperson added that a subsequent manhunt for the fleeing suspects on Monday morning led to the discovery of the body of one of the hoodlums killed by the operatives during the shoot-out.
The body of the hoodlum, identified as Chukwunonso, otherwise known as "Nolly", was discovered in the forest where the shootout took place, the police said.
"The two neutralised members of the criminal gang have been on the criminals' watch list of the Command," he said.
One locally-made revolver gun loaded with four cartridges, a locally fabricated pistol and a black Lexus 350 SUV belonging to the rescued victim were recovered from the suspects, according to the police.
The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Kanayo Uzuegbu, has commended the operatives for quickly adapting to his newly introduced crime-fighting strategies, Mr Ndukwe said.
Mr Uzuegbu charged the operatives and other personnel of the police in the state to sustain the tempo against criminals.
The police commissioner vowed that under his administration, criminals would not be given "breathing space" in the state.
