By James Ogunnaike

Unknown gunmen on Saturday kidnapped a Swiss expatriate, Andred Beita and his driver, along Ibese-Itori road in Ogun State.

The gunmen also killed one person in the process.

Vanguard reliably gathered that the gunmen, after exchanging fire with the police escort attached to a farm in the area, succeeded in capturing the Swiss and his driver.

It was further gathered that about 5pm on Saturday, personnel attached to the Chairman of Olabel Farms, Ola Bello, led by one Inspector Hassan Kumode, ran into an ambush while on the escort of the VIP from Ilaro.

They were reportedly ambushed by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers between Itori and Ibese road, when coming from Ilaro.

“On sighting the policemen attached to the man, the gunmen opened fire on them, and in the ensuing shootout, a Swiss expatriate attached to the farm, Andred Beita, and his driver, who was simply identified as Ifeanyi, were abducted by the gun-wielding kidnappers.

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“Two staff of the company, Ishaya Ibrahim and Michael Kujore, sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to hospitals,” a source.

It was learnt that Michael Kujore was rushed to State Hospital, Sagamu, where he was confirmed dead as a result of the gunshot injuries.

However, Ishaya Ibrahim was taken to Hossannah Hospital, Ilaro, where he is said to be responding to treatment as of the time of filing this report.

The incident, it was gathered, was reported at Itori and Ilaro police stations.

Confirming the incident, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyem said, one of the workers in the car with the expatriate was shot dead

He added that two of the kidnappers were killed, while one AK47 was recovered

He said, “I  am aware . The victims went to their farm around Ibese and on their way coming ,the gunmen attacked them . But the policemen with them displayed a rare  courageous bravery .They killed two of the kidnappers and recovered one  big AK47 loaded  with nine ammunitions from the kidnappers”. 

“In the process, two of the people were injured and were taken to hospitals . One died while receiving treatment”. 

“The hoodlums went away with a Swiss national and one other person. The policemen did not want to increase  the collateral damage because if they continue to engage them, they had already kidnapped two of them and the police don’t want to lose the victims so we are still on their trail making efforts to ensure that those people are rescued unhurt”.

Vanguard News Nigeria