On Monday, during an attempt to kidnap the politician along the Obiri-Kwere axis of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, kidnappers shot and killed the politician’s driver and an assistant.
According to ANAEDOONLINE Metro, the politician’s driver was taking him and a companion to a location in the state when the kidnappers surrounded his car near Obiri-Kwere.
The lawmaker was taken hostage after the kidnappers killed the chauffeur and an unnamed assistant during the operation.
Police officers engaged the suspects in a gunfight while trying to intercept them as they were reportedly escaping with the lawmaker in custody.
An eyewitness, who does not want his name mentioned for security reasons, said during the gun battle, the driver conveying the policemen in a police van lost control of the vehicle and it somersaulted.
“After they shot the policemen and demobilised them, the kidnappers fled the scene with the victim,” the eyewitness said.
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Another eyewitness said the kidnappers were dressed in military uniform, adding that they started shooting at the police van as it advanced towards their direction.
He said, “We heard sporadic shooting along the road and a lot of people ran. Some of us who were around came out to verify what happened.
“We were told that men in military uniform in a white vehicle kidnapped somebody. While they were at it, another vehicle like a police van was approaching.
“These kidnappers started shooting them. You have two people in the van dead. Then there are two injured policemen, the driver and one other civilian. The injured policemen have been taken to the hospital.”
Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the shooting of the cops and the death of the two men.
Iringe-Koko said the state Commissioner of Police had ordered the deployment of a tactical unit to ensure the fleeing kidnappers were arrested and made to face justice, as well as the rescue of the abducted politician.
“No policeman was killed. Yes, they were injured. It was the driver and an aide to the man that was kidnapped that were fatally wounded. The policemen were shot and are receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital,” she said.
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