The Police in Lagos State are yet to publish the names of the nine suspected kidnappers neutralised in the state or arrest those who escaped, almost a year after the operation.

The kidnappers were allegedly terrorising the Isolo, Okota, Ejigbo, and Ladipo areas of Lagos State until July 4, 2024, when officers of Lagos State Police Command killed nine of them.

They were slain in a gun battle with police in Ladipo, Mushin, Lagos. Nine AK-47 magazines, three walkie-talkies, a POS machine, a loudspeaker, four AK-47 rifles, and four locally manufactured semi-automatic pistols were allegedly retrieved from them.

Also recovered are their two operational vehicles: a black Toyota 4Runner and a blue Lexus RX350. The Guardian gathered that the kidnappers were deceived with a ransom of N1 billion.

The Commands intelligence gathering yielded credible and actionable intelligence about the dangerous and very notorious gang of kidnappers planning to kidnap some high net-worth individuals in Lagos.

Upon receipt of the intelligence about two weeks before the operation, the then Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Fayoade Adegoke, directed the Commands tactical teams to commence work on it.

They followed up and found that the gang was going to strike that day in the Ladipo area of Lagos. It was rumoured that a Nollywood actor was one of the kidnappers but the police did not confirm the identity and are yet to give a final report on the incident that shook Lagos.

The spokesperson for the Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the kidnappers were caught unawares and would not give up easily as they engaged the police officers in a shoot-out.

They bowed to the superior firepower of the police. Nine of them were neutralised, while two escaped with gunshot injuries. The police promised that investigations were on to arrest the fleeing suspects.

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