On Sunday, the Edo State Police Command announced that it had freed 17 people who had been kidnapped along the Benin-Lagos Expressway.
Assuring the people of the state that efforts were underway to rescue the victims and apprehend the thugs, the command spokesperson, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, stated in a press release on Wednesday that three of the victims remained in the kidnappers’ den.
The statement said, “On Sunday, November 20, 2022, at approximately 6:35 p.m., Edo Police Command, in its efforts to put an end to kidnapping and other related violent crimes in the state, rescued 17 kidnapped victims (male and female) along the Benin-Lagos Expressway between Ugbogwi and Ohosu communities in Edo State.
Three more people were discovered to be missing during the headcount procedure.
“The rescued victims were on a mass transit bus headed from Delta to Lagos State when they were ambushed and taken hostage by six herdsmen brandishing pump-action guns and AK-47 rifles. The herdsmen fired intermittent shots at passing cars before taking 20 people and disappearing into the bush.
“The moment the gunshot was heard, Safer High Way Edo South agents and other police units covering the lengthy stretch of the freeway moved in that direction, engaged the kidnappers, and freed 17 people while taking three more into the bush.
In the interim, he continued, “a serious manhunt operation using bush combing strategies is currently ongoing for the arrest of the kidnappers and for the possible rescue of the victims unharmed.”
