Security operatives in Edo on Saturday, rescued 13 persons from kidnappers’ den in Ahor axis of Aduwawa Bypass, along Benin-Auchi Expressway, in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of the State.
The security team included men and officers of the Edo State Police Command, local hunters and members of the Edo State Vigilance Security Network.
The 13 persons rescued included two separate teams that were kidnapped on Thursday, with one set travelling from Lagos state to Akwa Ibom State, and the other comprising persons travelling from Lagos state to Onitsha, Anambra State.
Edo state commissioner of police, Philip Ogbadu, made the disclosure of the rescued kidnapped victims while addressing newsmen in Benin.
Ogbadu said the command deployed drones and were assisted by hunters and members of the Vigilance security network set up by the state government.
According to him, “We used information provided to track the kidnappers. We took courage to enter the forest. This is how we would proceed with the operations going forward.”
He reassured Edo people that the command would not relent in its quest to rid the state of kidnappers.
Accordingto him “We are going to carry out general combing of the area so that we can identify their camps.
“So far, we have identified up to 7 camps and we will make these camps visiting points so that they will not be able to come back.”
Ogbadu urged residents in communities along Ahor-Auchi Road to provide relevant information about the activities of kidnappers to the authorities.
He said “we are going to seek more information from these communities as these kidnappers come to the road to buy food and they interact with the people.”
The Police Commissioner said the command would carry out regular patrols and mount checkpoints along the road.
He said the rescued victims were taken to Magnus Eweka Police Cottage Hospital for thorough medical examinations before they would be handed over to the state government to assist them proceed to their destinations.
Coordinator of the Edo State community vigilance security network, Mr Yusuf Haruna, said the success of the operation was a testament to what Edo government was doing with the new security architecture in identifying and understanding behaviours of crime and criminality in the state.
“Crime is local, so we localised our architecture. We have chased the criminal elements away from the city to the suburbs and we are taking the war to them in the suburbs as well,” he added.
