Gunmen Kidnap APC Candidate, Kill Police Officer

A policeman has been shot dead during the kidnap of an aspiring lawmaker.

Ohio Ezomon, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was abducted by the gunmen on Thursday.

Mr Ezomon seeks to represent Owan West Constituency of Edo State.

The police spokesperson in the state, Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident said a police officer attached to Mr Ezomon was shot dead by the gunmen who stormed the politician’s house at Sabongida Ora.

Mr Nwabuzor said the gunmen besieged the politician’s home and went to the boys’ quarters where the police officer, a driver, and a civilian security guard were staying.

They shot and killed the officer on the spot and took the other two to the main building, where they broke a window to gain access before abducting the politician.

The police spokesperson said the commissioner of police in the state, Hakeem Odumosun, visited the crime scene on Friday and has directed that security should be increased around Sabongida Ora to secure lives and properties.

No arrest has been made yet, he said.

Meanwhile, the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, has urged people in the state to remain calm while the police investigate the incident.

“Governor Godwin Obaseki is on top of the incident and calls on the people to remain calm. He has ordered the Police Command to ensure that the kidnap victim is rescued,” the governor’s spokesperson, Crusoe Osagie, said in a statement on Friday.