Rivers State Police Command said it has smashed a gang of kidnappers responsible for the abduction of 14 staffers of NESTOil Company who were abducted on September 2, 2016.
The oil workers were kidnapped along Omoku/Elele road by gunmen, while returning to Port Harcourt, after hijacking the official bus.
The bus and their luggages were abandoned in the bush by the kidnappers.
The freed oil workers were rescued in the early hours of yesterday, after the hoodlums reportedly engaged police in a fierce gun battle for one and half hours.
The hoodlums who were said to have fled when they could not withstand the fire power of the policemen, abandoned their hostages.
The Command’s spokesman, Omoni Nnamdi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) confirmed the rescue of the of the oil workers in a statement issued yesterday evening.
He said efforts were on to arrest and bring the fleeing hoodlums to justice.
Nnamdi said no ransom was paid, adding that they victims had been debriefed and were receiving medical attention in the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Francis Odesanya, has appealed to residents of the state to have confidence in the ability of his officers to reduce crime to its barest minimum in the state.
He urged them to go about their lawful businesses without fear, as the Command had been repositioned and reenergised to do battle with perpetrators of heinous crimes in the state.
He appealed to the public to cooperate with the police in the area of information sharing.
Since their abduction, the State Police Command intensified efforts by combing the area to ensure they were rescued unhurt.
The names of the 14 hostages released were: Uchendu Obuh, Oliseh Onabrakpeya, Bisong Jacob, John Ambrose, Elijah Walter, Onah Onyekachukwu and Okoro Emmanuel.
Others included: Oliver Onah, Collins Joseph, Ndifreke Elkannah, Raphael Odili, Babatunde Joseph, Unah Gregory and Double Chief. All of them were males.
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