Nigerian police said they killed two gunmen and rescued two kidnapped people in an operation in the central Kwara state in the early hours of Wednesday. 

Okasanmi Ajayi, the police spokesperson in Kwara, said in a statement that the two victims, a female and her son, were kidnapped and taken away by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday night from their home in the Shao area of the state.

The police launched immediately an intensive search and rescue operation after being informed of the kidnap, said Ajayi, adding the kidnappers were engaged by police operatives in a bush in the area while sharing the ransom collected from the family of the victims.

He said two of the gunmen were fatally wounded during the operation and later confirmed dead at a local hospital, while efforts have been intensified to get other fleeing members of the gang arrested for prosecution.

The rescued victims had been reunited with their families after being certified medically stable, Ajayi said.

There have been a series of gunmen attacks in Nigeria in recent months, leading to deaths and kidnappings.