Five Abducted Including Police Inspector in Edo Attack

On February 8, five people, including a Nigeria Police Force officer, were allegedly kidnapped in two different attacks in Akoko Edo, Edo State’s Edo North Senatorial District.

In light of claims that the kidnappers requested a ransom of ₦100 million for two of the victims, the occurrences, which took place at several locations, have created heightened fear among residents.

The first attack took place at the Makeke Community Health Center, according to a statement released to reporters on Wednesday by Bode Ekundayo, the Movement for the Advancement of Akoko Edo People’s national coordinator.

In his account, Samuel Ilesanmi and a female secondary school student named Tope Oriloye were kidnapped by gunmen after they brought their wife and ailing son to the medical facility.

He said that on February 8, two girls from a secondary school, Tope Oriloye and Samuel Ilesanmi, were abducted from the community health center in Makeke village, which is located in the eastern portion of Akoko Edo and less than a kilometer from Ososo.

The kidnappers then phoned the victims’ relatives and demanded ₦100 million in exchange for their release, Ekundayo continued.

In a different operation in Auchi, the group also revealed that police inspector Segun Obanowa from Uma/Imoga in Akoko Edo was kidnapped together with his wife and daughter after they broke into his home.

The officer’s wife was reportedly liberated by the gunmen in order to facilitate her source payment for her husband and daughter’s release.

In Auchi, kidnappers broke into the home of Police Inspector Segun Obanowa from Uma/Imoga in Akoko Edo and took him, his wife, and their daughter hostage. They later freed his wife to go seek ransom to rescue her husband and daughter, according to Ekundayo.

Ekundayo said that as soon as the tragedy occurred, local vigilantes and hunters went into overdrive, searching the neighboring neighborhoods and forests for the victims.

Still, their efforts were in vain.

The kidnappers, however, called in the evening of February 9 to demand ₦100 million in order to free Tope Oriloye and Samuel Ilesanmi.

He continued, “This practice of requiring ₦100 million to start a ransom negotiation is getting accustomed to it, having shown its annoying tendency in prior kidnap ransom negotiations.”

The group urged the Edo State Government and the Akoko Edo Local Government to take immediate action to stabilize the region’s deteriorating security situation.

It cautioned that a more serious crisis could result from ongoing inaction.

We have already written, issued warnings, and promptly sent information to all Edo State security agencies and governmental levels. Or does it not seem clear that the deteriorating plague would eventually turn into unstoppable disasters? They’re all around Akoko Edo.

“It is evident that gunmen from Benue and Kwara States are rapidly approaching Edo State, with the vast wilderness of Akoko Edo serving as their open gateway,” Ekundayo said.

The kidnapping in Makeke was confirmed by the Edo State Police Command, who also stated that suspects had been taken into custody.

According to Police Public Relations Officer Eno Ikoedem, the victims are being rescued with increased effort and ongoing investigations.

“I can attest to the fact that Makeke Village in Akoko Edo Local Government in Edo North was the scene of a kidnapping. “Efforts to rescue the victims are ongoing, and some suspects are in police custody,” she said.

A few weeks prior, on January 9, seven Imoga natives were abducted while staying at the Stay Boy Hotel on the Imoga-Ibillo route.

In addition to the visitors, the hotel owner was also kidnapped.

The ransom demands of the kidnappers, which were reduced to ₦70 million and then ₦40 million, were made on January 11.

The victims were purportedly threatened with death by the abductors by January 16 if the ransom was not paid, but they were eventually freed once an unknown sum was paid.

The increasing ransom demands and frequent kidnappings, according to locals, have made Akoko Edo and the surrounding communities more fearful.