Gunmen kill three police officers, kidnap Andy Ehanire’s brother in Edo

Unknown gunmen on Sunday killed three police officers in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

The attackers also kidnapped a man said to be the younger brother of Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the abducted man, Andy Ehanire, is the managing director of Ogba Zoological Gardens, Benin City.

The police spokesperson in Edo, Moses Nkombe, who confirmed the development to reporters on Monday in Benin City, said the incident happened at the zoological garden.

The slain police officers were posted to the garden to provide security for fun-seekers at the zoo and nature park.

“Our men are working on that (the incident), though we have not made any arrest,” the police spokesperson, Nkombe, said.

The remains of the police officers have since been deposited at the morgue of the Benin Central Hospital.

Edo, like several other Nigerian states, has been grappling with an increase in the rate of kidnapping and other crimes.