Police, Soldiers In Mass Action In Edo Over Rampant Kidnapping https://osazuwaakonedo.news/police-soldiers-in-mass-action-in-edo-over-rampant-kidnapping/ Day after the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika personally led troops of joint security operatives at the dead of the night to launch offensive attacks against kidnappers in the forest, the Commander, 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Ahmed Balogun also personally led troops of joint security operatives to the kidnappers' hideouts and launched massive military clearance and offensive actions against kidnappers, both security operations led to the arrest of several suspected kidnappers allegedly caught in the act inside the bush, with the identities of the arrested suspects indicating that most of the kidnappers terrorising Edo State are from the far Northern part of Nigeria, an observation which appeared to have challenged the public policy statement made earlier in January 2026 by the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo who stated that many of those involved in the kidnapping surge in Edo state are indigenes of the area, saying, that may be the reason some kidnappers wears facemasks, the governor made this statement as kidnapping in the state appeared to have become worse in 2026 and very rampant in a manner that indicated that an average of 1 to 2 persons are being kidnapped in a day in Edo state as more than 60 persons became new victims of the increasing criminal activities in the state since the beginning of 2026, like, in January 2, 2026, two brothers, Doctor Abu Ibrahim Babatunde, a medical doctor on housemanship and Abu Tahir, a fresh graduate were kidnapped at the gate of their residence along City Pride Road, Igbira Camp in Auchi, the kidnappers initially demanded a ₦200 million ransom and tragically, on January 5, one of the two brothers was found dead, on January 9, 2026, 8 indigenes of Imoga community in the Akoko-Edo local government area of the state were abducted from a hotel along Ibillo road, since the start of 2026, Edo state has experienced a significant surge in kidnappings, leading to widespread protests at Ekpoma in the Edo Central senatorial zone with multiple police rescue operations including the incidents reported early February 2026, where police rescued 9 victims including 5 children and a separate group of 14 victims, this as that, earlier on January 22, 2026, a farmer named Monday Adero was kidnapped and later rescued and in late January, another farmer, Abraham Udewa, and his two wives, Brinda and Anna were abducted from Egoro Amende community but successfully rescued by security forces, in mid-January, Akhabhe Favour and a former student union leader were kidnapped in Edo central, troubled by the surge in kidnapping in the state, residents and students of Ambrose Alli University A.A.U staged a major protest on January 10, 2026, citing "daily kidnappings" and the abduction of a university professor and numerous students, on February 2, 2026, a family of nine was ambushed at Eko-Abeku-Iyowa road in Ovia North-East Local government area and the kidnappers demanded a ₦260 million ransom for four children and two women still held after five others were rescued or released, that aside, on January 31, 2026, gunmen intercepted a commercial bus near Ekhiadolor, shooting the driver and taking passengers into the bush, police later rescued 13 victims, in mid-January 2026, multiple residents in Ekpoma were abducted, including a victim captured on CCTV being taken from his compound. #OsazuwaAkonedo Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/osazuwaakonedo--4980924/support. Kindly support us for more productivity and efficiency in news delivery. Visit our donation page: Donate You can also use our Mobile app for more news in different formats: CLICK TO DOWNDLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY STORE
