The police have rescued a Andrew Amana, catholic priest who was abducted by bandits at his residence at St. Francis Catholic Church, Godogodo, Jama’a Local Government Area of Kaduna state.
In a statement on Monday, Mansur Hassan, spokesperson of the Kaduna state police command, said the clergy man was abducted on November 3, 2023, in the night at his residence at St. Francis Catholic Church Godogodo.
He said police the operatives of the police in Kafanchan Divisional Command launched a manhunt for the criminals which led to the rescue of the priest unhurt and the arrest of two suspects on November 4.
He said, “the police, in conjunction with local vigilantes trailed the gunmen to their hideout in the vast Dogon Kurmi forest where a gun duel ensued.
According to him, “the police operatives tactically combed the forest and successfully dislodged the hoodlums and rescued the clergyman unhurt.”
Hassan said, two suspects, namely; Lawal Muhammad, 27 and Ya’u Hussain 30, were arrested while an AK-47 rifle loaded with two rounds of live 7.62 X 39mm ammunitions was recovered from them.
He said preliminary investigation revealed that the the hoodlums and the family of the victim had earlier settled for a ransom of N4 million before the police struck.
“The gunmen were four in number thus, two are still at large, though strongly suspected to be nursing gunshot wounds from the violent combat.
“Hence, the Police Command is calling on the public around that axis to be on the watch for any person or persons nursing suspected bullet injuries and report same to the closest Police station or any security outfit.
“The Commissioner of Police Kaduna State Command, CP Musa Yusuf Garba, while commending the Operatives for the recorded success, charged them not to relent in denying criminal elements in the state of any operating space.
“He again called on the members of the public to always be on the lookout for suspicious characters in their area and report them to any nearest security agency”, Hassan said.
