Police out-gun five kidnappers, rescue abducted girl, in Anambra State

On 12 February, the police in Anambra State smashed a five-man kidnap gang, after an intense gun battle which saw one of the kidnappers killed and another arrested with bullet wounds. The operation took place at Abatete in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state.

Acting on a tip-off, the police and local vigilantes had stormed an uncompleted building in which the kidnappers were hiding. At the end of the duel, they freed a 12-year-old girl, Chidimma Onyeamalu, who had been seized by the kidnappers, killed one of the kidnappers, arrested another with bullet wounds and recovered a pump action rifle loaded with cartridges. The arrested kidnapper, identified as Ifeanyichukwu Uzor, aged 22, confessed that his gang had been involved in several kidnap cases in Anambra and other states.