Police rescue Rivers 7 from kidnappers

The freed kidnap victims and police spokesman

Police in Rivers State, yesterday, announced the rescue of the last batch of 14 Nestoil workers kidnapped 17 days ago around Omoku, headquarters of Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Omoni Nnamdi, said the last batch rescued is made of seven men.
The other seven had, at separate times, escaped from the kidnappers’ hideout.
Nnamdi said: “The Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Mr Francis Odesanya, in keeping with his pledge to fight all manners of crime and criminality in the state, which pledge is already yielding result, has again smashed the gang of kidnappers responsible for the abduction of 14 oil workers on September 2.”

He said that men of the command engaged the kidnappers in a fierce gun battle at the end of which they abandoned the seven hostages and fled.
According to him, “the oil workers were rescued unhurt due largely to the efforts of the Command’s Tactical Units, which, in the early hours of today (yesterday), engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun battle which lasted for one and half hours, leading to the rescue of the victims.
“The hoodlums fled, abandoning their hostages. Efforts are on to arrest and bring them to justice.
“The last of the hostages, seven in number, were rescued unhurt bringing the total number to 14. However, no ransom was paid. They have been debriefed and are receiving medical attention in the hospital. Investigation is ongoing at the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit.”
The police image-maker listed the names of the freed hostages as Uche Obuh, Oliseh Onabrakpeya, Bisong Jacob, John Ambrose, Elijah Walter, Onah Onyekachukwu, Okoro Emmanuel, Oliver Onah, Collins Joseph, Ndifreke Elkannah, Raphael Odili, Babatunde Joseph, Unah Gregory and Double Chief, all males.
He said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Odesanya, “wishes to appeal to the residents of the state to have confidence in his ability to reduce crime to its barest minimum in the state.
“He urged them to go about their lawful businesses without fear, as the Command has been repositioned and re-energised to do battle with perpetrators of heinous crimes in the state, while appealing to the public to cooperate with the police in the area of information sharing.”