CP Agbonika revealed this during a media briefing on his first 30 days in office, he disclosed that his men have recovered 25 firearms, including two AK-47 rifles, 130 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 135 live cartridges, and four stolen or robbed vehicles.
From the day I got into this state, I discovered that proliferation of firearms was a major challenge,” he said. “Even people who claim they are hunters, they have guns—pump action shotguns. We have been taking them over, even when we don’t have any offence against them.”
He warned that individuals and groups, including vigilantes, must not bear arms unless duly authorised. “We will not allow anyone, whether in the name of vigilantes or whatever, to carry firearms at will,” he cautioned.
Agbonika also highlighted other milestones achieved through joint operations and technical intelligence, including the rescue of 37 kidnap victims. Among those rescued was the PDP chairman in Esan West, Andrew Ikajiengbe, who was abducted on his farm in Emu forest. The CP confirmed he was freed unharmed and without any ransom.
“Whenever kidnappers take victims, we go after them, but it’s difficult to engage because they use the hostages as human shields,” he noted. “While they have the liberty to fire at us, we must be cautious not to harm the victims.”
He added that efforts are ongoing to introduce more advanced technology to improve the tracking and capture of kidnappers without endangering hostages.
Distinguished Gentlemen of the Press,
As you are all aware, I assumed duty on Tuesday, 8th April, 2025 as the 50th Commissioner of Police. I was fully briefed by the Chairman, Police Service Commission DIG Hashimu Salihu Argungu Rtd, mni, psc, NPM and the Inspector-General of Police IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, PhD, NPM on the Security challenges peculiar to the State such as cultism and kidnapping. It was very clear that community inclusivity, and collaboration with both state and non-state actors was the way to go.
2. Barely two days of my assumption of duty, I hit the ground running by visiting the North and Central Senatorial Zones of the State to see for my self all the identified flash points with prevalence of kidnapping and other heinous crimes, and immediately engaged critical stakeholders to map out proactive strategies to curb these challenges in the bud. These strategies which are being reviewed from time to time have yielded considerable results even though it is not yet uhuru. I want to share with you the account of my stewardship in the past thirty (30) days.
3. Our collaborative and proactive strategies have led to the rescue of thirty-seven (37) kidnapped victims in daring operations which involved technical intelligence. The officers and men have worked tirelessly over these days, leading to the recovery of twenty-five (25) firearms including two (2) AK 47 rifles, 130rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 135 live cartridges, as well as the recovery of four (4) stolen/robbed vehicles.
Summary of the achievements recorded in past one month is as follows:
Exhibits Recovered
i) Two (2) AK 47 riffles
ii) One (1) Lar Mark riffle
iii) Three (3) English pistols
iv) One (1) Beretta pistol
v) Four (4) single barrel guns
vi) One (1) automatic Pump Action shotgun
vii) Eight (8) locally-made Pistols
viii) One (1) locally made shotgun
ix) One (1) Beretta pistol magazine
x) One Hundred and ten (110) rounds of ammunition
xi) Thirty-four (34) live cartridges
xii) One (1) Mercedes Benz GLK 300
xiii) One (1) Toyota hilux
xiv) One (1) Toyota Highlander
xv) One (1) Hijet mini bus
xvi) Two (2) snatched-motorcycles
xvii) One (1) dagger
xviii) One (1) trigger part
xix) One (1) iphone 16 Plus
xx) Cash sum of One hundred and fifty thousand naira (#100,000)
Suspects Arrested
i) Ninety-Five (95) suspected Cultists
ii) Twelve (12) Suspected Kidnappers
iii) Five (5) suspected Armed Robbers
Number of Persons Rescued
i) Thirty-Seven (37) rescued kidnapped victims
4. We shall sustain engagement with communities, bush combing operations across area commands and divisions, intelligence-led raids of flashpoints and high visibility policing amongst many other strategies with a view to preventing crimes and maintain law and order in the State.
5. On this note, I wish to express the Command’s appreciation to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, PhD, NPM for his guidance. We also appreciate His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Edo State, Sen Monday Okpebholo for his unflinching support. While soliciting the continued support of the law abiding people of the State who have been trusting us with valuable information that has helped us in achieving this feat, I encourage all stakeholders to continue cooperating with the police as we strive to surmount the security challenges experienced in the state.
While most of the cases have been charged to court, some are under investigation.
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