Four alleged kidnappers have been killed by residents of Busunu after a gun battle in a nearby bush in a village in the West Gonja District of the Savannah Region.

This was after the village's youth organised a search party to look for a little girl who was said to have been kidnapped.

According to reports, the suspects are said to have demanded ¢180,000 from the girl's parents shortly after she went missing.

Narrating the incident, the Savannah Regional Police PRO, Owusu Agyekum, said the Chief Linguist of Yagbonwura, accompanied by Abudu Afuli and the Busunu Fulani Chief, Amidu Braimah, reported that at about 11 am on Wednesday, one of his children by name Osumanu Seidu, 4, was kidnapped on Tuesday.

According to the Police, some community members who searched for the child ran into a group alleged to be kidnappers in a bush in Busunu.

“This becomes the third of such incident in the community, “the first was a little girl, but she was killed, the second kidnap was two children, but the Police were quick to rescue the victims, but we missed the suspects.

“In our investigation on the kidnap of the two that were rescued, we noticed that the suspects were about 11 to 19 people, not just two or three people, so they are a group. When they kidnap you, they demand a huge amount so they can have enough to share among themselves, so we suspect they are the same people in this kidnap case.”

The Police PRO added that the suspects are between 20 and 34 years.

"In the case of the little girl that was killed, they demanded ¢200,000 from her family, but the family was unable to raise the money.”

“In the second case, they demanded ¢130,000, with that a family member even paid ¢30,000 to avoid a situation where they would be killed or escape to a different place. Still, Police used intelligence to rescue the two children and again, although the suspects escaped."

The search party led by Adamu Amadu reported that the kidnappers started shooting at the search party, and they also shot back, killing four of them.

Reports indicated that the suspects were not from the village as the deceased persons were unknown in the village.

On receipt of the report, the Deputy Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ebenezer Larbi, the Regional Crime Officer and other officers proceeded to the crime scene in the bush.

Upon reaching the scene, Police said they found four bodies of male adults in a pool of blood.

According to the police, each of them was wearing a pair of black trousers, and a black T-shirt and all four bodies were found with multiple gunshot wounds upon inspection.

Meanwhile, one resident who was part of the search team, Adamu Amadu, sustained gunshot wounds on the left arm and was rushed to the Busunu Health Center for treatment.

Also, a pair of white rubber shoes, sandals and other footwear, and four empty BB cartridges were found at the crime scene, and the same was retained for investigations.

The deceased have been conveyed and deposited at the West Gonja District Hospital morgue for preservation.