The Nigerian Army 35 Artillery Brigade and the Ogun State Police Command on Monday foiled a kidnapping attempt targeting Chinese expatriates at Magbon Village, around the Mowe area of Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by Major Idereghi Samuel Akari, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 35 Artillery Brigade, troops from Alamala Army Barracks and personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, during a joint patrol, prevented the criminals from carrying out the abduction of the foreign nationals.
Akari explained that the joint security team was ambushed by armed men suspected to be kidnappers while responding to a distress call from a dredging site where expatriate workers were engaged in operations.
He said a fierce exchange of gunfire ensued, during which one of the attackers was neutralised.
Major Akari said the remaining assailants reportedly abandoned their mission and retreated through surrounding forest terrain towards the Ogun River, taking five hostages as human shields to evade pursuit by a Quick Response Force deployed as reinforcement.
He said: ‘Four of the hostages were later killed by the fleeing attackers before they escaped through the river channel in a boat. One of the hostages who escaped narrated how the assailants took the body of their dead colleague along with them.
‘Regrettably, a soldier lost his life during the encounter, while another soldier and two police officers sustained gunshot injuries. The deceased soldier and the recovered bodies of the hostages have been deposited at the mortuary of the General Hospital, Sagamu. The injured personnel are currently receiving medical attention.
‘Following the incident, the Quick Response Force and other security agencies have intensified patrols and surveillance in the area to restore calm and prevent further security breaches.’
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command has clarified that the incident at the private dredging site was an isolated criminal attack and not a bandit operation, as speculated in some quarters.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, in a statement, also confirmed that a soldier lost his life during the incident and that others sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment.
He explained that preliminary findings do not indicate any connection between the incident and banditry activities and that investigations and tactical operations are ongoing.
The police spokesperson assured residents that the situation is under control and that security presence has been reinforced in the area.
‘The attackers abducted four persons during the incident. Police operatives, in collaboration with the military and other security stakeholders, immediately launched coordinated search-and-rescue operations.
‘One of the abducted victims was rescued, while the remains of the other three victims were later recovered.
‘During the bush-combing exercise, a local hunter supporting the operation lost his life in an encounter with the fleeing criminals. The Command extends its condolences to his family.
‘Sustained tactical pressure by the joint security team led to the neutralisation of one of the suspects, while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the gang. The incident remains an isolated criminal attack,’ Babaseyi said.