Nigerian police have freed a prominent supporter of the president believed to be the son of an ex-prime minister after a gun battle with his abductors, authorities said Sunday, months ahead of elections.

The victim, Jhalil Tafawa Balewa, heads a prominent support group for President Goodluck Jonathan, who has not yet declared his candidacy for elections set for January but is expected to do so.

Tafawa Balewa, a physician and businessman, "was abducted late Friday by gunmen and taken to a forest in Katampe area, on the outskirts of Abuja, where we engaged the suspects and rescued the abductee," police spokesman Moshood Jimoh said.

There was a shoot-out with police, he said, which resulted in a number of suspects being wounded and arrested. Police first said three were detained, but later said two.

In comments to reporters, Tafawa Balewa implied that he was able to escape on his own, with police intervening afterwards, though he did not provide details.

"It was raining. I saw an opportunity and I took it. Then I saw policemen coming. I ducked. I did not know it was me they were coming to rescue," he said.

Abuja police chief John Haruna said the kidnappers had backing from suspects he did not name.

"These kidnappers are not acting solo...They demanded 100 million naira (661,000 dollars, 518,000 euros) and later reduced it to less than 10 million naira," he told reporters.

Tafawa Balewa is the national chairman of "Goodluck Na Kowa" (meaning 'Goodluck for all' in Hausa), a group mobilising support for Jonathan.

Police said he is the son of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria's first and only prime minister. He held the position from 1957 until January 1966, when he was assassinated in the country's first military coup.

The family has, however, disowned a Jhalil Tafawa Balewa in recent years, according to a statement from 2008, and his link to the family could not be confirmed.