Two members of a suspected kidnap syndicate on Sunday, August 29, 2021, died in a gun battle with operatives of Ogun State Police Command at Itori area of Ewekoro Local Government Area.
Prior to the gun battle, policemen in Ewekoro Division had got reports at about 7:30 am, that some hoodlums, who were armed and wore face masks, were sighted in a bush behind ICT Polytechnic, Itori.
The police spokesman in the command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the death of the suspects on Monday, August 30, said that before the encounter, many suspected kidnappers had been traced to the same forest.
He said that the anti-robbery team of the police division was promptly dispatched to fish out the hoodlums.
“On sighting the policemen, the gang opened fire on them, and the policemen engaged them in gun battle which lasted for about 40 minutes.
“At the end of the encounter, two members of the syndicate were gunned down while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot injuries,” the PPRO disclosed.
Recovered from them were a locally-fabricated shotgun, two live cartridges, two battle axes, empty shells of AK-47 rifle ammunition, three android phones, two small phones, eight pairs of slippers and two school bags.
The state Commissioner of Police, Edward Awolowo Ajogun, who commended the gallantry display of his men, warned criminals to stop testing the willpower of the command under his watch, as doing so would continue to spell doom for them.
Ajogun also directed a massive manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang, just as he reiterated the stand of the command to roll out all in its arsenal to wage war against crime and criminality, in order to make the state crime free.
