The Nigeria Police Force on Sunday narrated how four of its officers were killed in an ambush in Kaduna State.
The police also said six of kidnappers that ambushed the policemen at Jankasa village inside Rigasa forest were also killed.
According to police, the kidnappers were shot dead during a gun battle on Saturday.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported the killing of the four officers who arrived from Abuja as part of the Intelligence and Response Team (IRT).
The Kaduna Police Command Public Relations officer, Sabo Yakubu, confirmed the deaths.
“The information reaching us is that we lost the four personnel during an ambush at a village called Jankasa. But we are still gathering facts about the incident which will indicate what actually happened there,” he said.
The leader of the IRT at the police headquarters in Abuja, Abba Kyari, later released the names of the deceased officers.
He also provided details of how they were ambushed on his Facebook page on Sunday evening.
According to him, the team was ambushed after arresting two kidnappers in the forest.
Mr Kyari, an assistant inspector general of police, explained that the IRT unit from Abuja was at the forest sequel to the kidnapping of a cleric, Ahmad Algarkawy, in Rigasa area of Kaduna State on August 2.
He said the team decided to go after the kidnappers after the cleric was released.
“In follow up to the case on 11 /8/2018 IRT operative arrested 2 of the kidnappers in a remote settlement in Rigasa forest Kaduna State.
“As the team were coming out of the bust with the arrested kidnappers, other gang members hiding inside the bust ambushed the IRT team and opened fire which resulted to the death of four IRT operative namely.
AP/NO. 148333 inspector Benard Odibo
AP/ No. 181539 Inspr Mamman Abubakar
AP/No 192938 Inspr Haruna. Ibrahim and
F/No 267815 Sgt. Emmanuel Istifanus.
“Six of the deadly kidnappers also died during the gun battle. One officer was treated for gun wound and discharged while the remaining officers who survived the ambush are in good health condition.
“Very serious efforts in progress to get the remaining killers to justice. May their souls rest in perfect peace, Ameen,” he wrote.
Kaduna has witnessed several killings and kidnappings by armed bandits in 2018. The kidnappings occur despite the efforts of the police and the army deployed to the state.
