The Enugu State Police Command successfully liberated, unscathed, individuals who were kidnapped on the Eke/Ebe Road within the Udi Local Government Area (LGA) following an intense exchange of gunfire with the captors.
DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the spokesperson for the command, disclosed in a press release issued on Wednesday in Enugu that the exchange of gunfire and subsequent rescue operation occurred around 6:15 p.m. on March 31, 2024.
Ndukwe stated that law enforcement officers from the Ezinze Police Division, in collaboration with the Neighbourhood Watch Group, successfully rescued the individuals purportedly abducted at approximately 4:55 p.m. along the Eke-Ebe Road on the same day.
He remarked that following a vigorous exchange of gunfire with the captors, they deserted the victims and hastily fled the scene.
“The immediate rescue is due to the team’s swift response upon receipt of information alleging that the victims, who were plying the road in two Mercedes Benz 4Matic Jeeps, were abducted and taken into the forest.
“However, further operations to hunt down the abductors are ongoing,” he said.
He said that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Kanayo Uzuegbu, had also condemned the viral video, which allegedly showed that another police team responded to the incident, but without clear knowledge of the location of the first responding team, and refused to go into the forest to rescue the same victims.
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The Command’ Spokesman said: “This is even when the police operatives had only arrived at the scene and were awaiting necessary intelligence-guidance before proceeding into the forest, to avoid any form of collateral damage.
“The commissioner further described the allegations contained in the viral video as an unfortunate act of mischief that is obviously aimed at maligning and distracting the police from frontally tackling and purging Enugu State of die-hard criminals and their activities.
He was quoted as saying that the commissioner noted that the video constituted a calculated scheme crafted to beguile and misinform the public, reaffirming the command’s resolute resolve to stamp out recurrent lawbreakers and their activities in Enugu State, notwithstanding the diversionary and duplicitous methods employed.
“The commissioner emphasizes that the video was without doubt a gimmick intended to misinform and mislead the public, and the command will not waver in its quest to rid Enugu State of unrepentant criminals and their activities despite the mischievous distraction.”