Police gun down suspected bandit during fierce shootout in Kwara

A joint team of police operatives and local vigilantes has killed a suspected bandit during a gun duel with armed criminals in Adekanbi village, close to Bode Saadu in Kwara State.

The exchange reportedly erupted after the gang, said to have taken position on a hill overlooking the community, opened fire as security personnel advanced toward their hideout.

The security team immediately responded, forcing the attackers to retreat into the bush, some of them believed to be nursing gunshot wounds.

The Police Public Relations Officer for the state command, SP Adetoun Ejire Adeyemi, in a statement on Friday, confirmed that the encounter occurred on Thursday.

A search of the area after the confrontation, she said, led to the discovery of the body of one suspect.

“Officers also recovered an AK49 rifle and thirty two rounds of live ammunition at the scene,” she added.

Adetoun hailed the operation as another milestone in the command’s efforts to clear out criminal hideouts across identified hotspots. She also appealed to residents to continue supplying credible information to aid security agencies in combating crime.