Operatives of the Edo State Police Command, in a joint operation with other security agencies, have neutralised three suspected kidnappers and rescued a kidnapped victim identified as Michael Akano in the state.
The victim was rescued by the police in collaboration with personnel of the Nigerian Army’s 195 Battalion, the Department of State Services (DSS), local hunters and members of the Edo State Security Corps (ESSC).
The command’s spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said the suspected kidnappers were neutralised in the early hours of October 11, 2026, during a joint security operation in Igarra, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State.
She said the security team, acting on credible intelligence and with technical support, stormed the Geo Works forest bordering Otuo, where the victim had been held following his abduction on October 9, 2026.
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According to her, three suspected members of the kidnapping gang were neutralised in a gun duel with the security team, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
She added that the victim was successfully rescued unhurt and taken to the hospital for medical attention.
Eno listed items recovered from the scene to include three locally fabricated single-barrel shotguns, eight live cartridges, five expended cartridges, two cutlasses and five mobile phones of different brands.
She said the bodies of the neutralised suspects had been deposited at the General Hospital mortuary in Igarra for autopsy, while a bush-combing operation was ongoing to track down and apprehend the fleeing suspects.
Ikoedem reiterated the command’s commitment to sustaining intelligence-led operations and denying criminal elements safe havens across the state.
The command urged residents to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies, assuring them that all actionable intelligence would be treated with the urgency it deserved as part of efforts to combat kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state.
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