Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have rescued nine victims from two separate kidnapping incidents across the state, authorities confirmed on Saturday, in what officials described as a coordinated security response to rising abductions along key transit routes.
According to a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, Eno Ikoedem, five of the victims were freed following a recent attack on a GUO Transport bus along the Benin-Lagos Expressway, while four others were rescued from captivity in the Imiegba Forest in Agenebode, Edo North.
Police said the rescue of the bus passengers followed an aggressive deployment of tactical teams ordered by the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, who mobilised intelligence units, aerial surveillance, and ground operatives to the affected corridor shortly after the incident.
“The Edo State Police Command is pleased to inform the general public that all five victims abducted during the recent kidnapping incident along the Benin–Lagos Expressway have been successfully rescued alive,” the statement said.
Authorities added that sustained bush-combing operations and pressure mounted on the kidnappers forced them to abandon the victims, leading to their safe recovery.
The victims have since received medical attention and have been reunited with their families.
In a related operation, police operatives also rescued four individuals who had been abducted earlier in the month and held in the dense Imiegba Forest.
The victims, according to the command, are in stable condition after receiving treatment.
The police said the successful operations bring the total number of rescued victims to nine, while assuring residents that security presence along the Benin-Lagos Expressway and surrounding communities has been reinforced.
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“Tactical, intelligence, and operational assets have been fully activated across the axis,” the statement added, noting that efforts are ongoing to track down and apprehend those responsible for the kidnappings.
The development comes days after gunmen suspected to be kidnappers attacked a commercial bus travelling from Lagos to the eastern part of the country, killing the driver and abducting passengers after forcing the vehicle to a halt.
A viral video circulating online showed the aftermath of the attack, with witnesses alleging that the assailants dragged passengers into nearby bushes after shooting the driver.
