TWO kidnappers were gunned down in the early hours of Tuesday while collecting ransom demanded before the release of their victims.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Onogwu Mohammed, said the killing followed an actionable intelligence report, which led to professional hunters in Okehi Local Government Area of the state ambushing the kidnappers who came out in Abobo area behind Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe, to collect the ransom demanded before the release of their victims.

Two of the three kidnappers were killed in the process, while one escaped into the bush with gunshot wounds with captives freed in the operation.

Speaking, the Divisional Police Officer, Okehi Local Government Area, Ovanja Yakubu, said men of the Nigeria Police in his division had been drafted to join professional hunters to fetch out the third kidnapper dead or alive.

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Reacting to the development, the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, maintained that his position on criminal elements was public knowledge, stating that the state would not accommodate any criminal who wanted to deprive the people of their peace.