Benue: Two shot as Police, kidnappers exchange bullets in Otukpa

A kidnap victim has been rescued and two suspects apprehended by the police in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State.

SP. Catherine Anene, the state PPRO, in a statement, stated that the rescued victim is receiving treatment in an undisclosed following gunshot injuries he sustained.

According to the statement, “On June 16, 2022, at about 0900hrs, when a team of Operation Zenda JTF were on patrol within Otukpa, Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue state, information was received that one Raphael Okpe of Akere village was kidnapped on his way to the farm, adding that following the information, the team went into immediate action to rescue the victim.”

The statement explained that as the team responded immediately in order to chase the kidnappers into their hideout, they engaged them in a gun duel, stressing that two of the suspects named Abdulahi Mohammed and Yusuf Saidu were arrested while the other suspects escaped with gunshot injuries into the bush.

It stated that the rescued victim who was shot in the leg by the hoodlums and has been taken to hospital where he is responding to treatment

The statement stated that ten rounds of AK-47 ammunition were recovered, saying that investigation is ongoing to arrest other suspects that are currently at large.