Operatives of the Nigeria Police in Enugu have killed at least 30 alleged kidnappers, including members of the notorious Unknown Gunmen, the Enugu State government has said on Wednesday.
In a statement released by the media office of the state governor, Peter Mbah, which included details from Police Superintendent (SP) Onochie Ezeh, who led the joint security operation described the group as a faction, which broke away from the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), that has been terrorising Enugu and its environs for months and allegedly loyal to Finland-based Nigerian, Simon Ekpa.
According to the reports in the statement by the senior police detective, they were killed during intense gun battles with security operatives at various locations across the state over the past two weeks.
The statement further indicated that some kidnapped victims were rescued along the Ugwuogo Nike-Opi Road in the early hours of Wednesday.
The statement noted that one of the operations happened at Ogbeke Nike, where a seven-man gang of kidnappers was neutralised.
The kidnappers were reportedly using a large poultry farm in the area to conceal their hostages, awaiting ransom payments.
SP Ezeh explained that the successful operation was part of a sustained effort by the police to dismantle criminal networks operating in Enugu and from neighbouring states.
“We have been on the trail of these kidnappers for more than three months now. They had been operating within this axis where they kidnapped their victims and kept them at a large poultry farm at Ogbeke Nike until ransoms were paid,” Ezeh said.
