Rivers State Police Command has rescued a popular hotelier, Mr. John Sunny, who was reportedly shot three times before he was whisked away from his home at Artillery in Port Harcourt, by gunmen.
The police said the kidnappers refused to release the victim even after his relatives paid ransom in dollars worth about N25million.
Police Commissioner Olatunji Disu spoke yesterday in his maiden New Year briefing at the Command Headquarters on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
He said: ”The victim was kidnapped on December 19, 2023 at his home in Artillery, Port Harcourt by these hoodlums. The victim is a popular hotelier.
“The hoodlums shot him three times in the leg before he was abducted. His family did not tell the police or other security agencies. They (victim’s family) decided to pay the ransom that was demanded by the kidnappers.
“The total sum of about N25 million in dollars was paid to these kidnappers, but they refused to release the victim. It was at that juncture that the wife of the victim informed the police. That was precisely on December 30.
“The police of the C4i Intelligence started to work on it. Earlier this month our men had an encounter with them, but these kidnappers escaped.”
CP Disu said when they noticed that the police had identified the kind of vehicles they used in their operations; the kidnappers took the vehicles to a mechanic workshop to change the colours.
He said: “They changed the colours, but we have recovered the two vehicles. On Monday night, on the discovery of the location where the victim was kept, we decided to embark on a rescue operation of the victim today (Tuesday).
“At about 0700 hours, officers of the command went to their hideout at Agbonchia-Oyigbo forest in Eleme Local Government where they kept the victim since then.
“The operation was successful, the victim was rescued alive and one of the kidnappers, while exchanging fire with officers, was injured and is undergoing treatment.
“The victim has been taken to hospital and is undergoing treatment. We recovered one AK-47 rifle from the kidnappers and two magazines loaded with 44 rounds of live ammunition and the two operational vehicles used to torment the public.
“The vehicles are one RS 315 and RS 330.
“The peculiar thing about these kidnappers is that they have been the ones collecting their ransom in food flask.
“They demand their ransom in dollars and ask it to be put in food flask. Those who escaped we know how to get them.”
