Edo Police Rescue Kidnap Victim, Foil Abduction on Benin-Lagos Expressway

Edo Police Rescue Kidnap Victim, Foil Abduction on Benin-Lagos Expressway

The Edo State Police Command has intensified highway patrols, rescuing a kidnap victim and thwarting another abduction attempt within days, TMnews  report.

Police spokesperson, CSP Moses Yamu, said on Sunday that operatives freed Elohor Osifoh, who was abducted on September 10. She was rescued after “days of relentless bush combing” and reunited with her family.

In a separate incident, officers foiled the kidnapping of three travellers along the Benin and Lagos expressway in the early hours of September 13.

“At about 2:30 a.m., operatives of the Okada Division, led by CSP Opatoyinbo John, responded to a distress call about a kidnapping attempt,” Yamu said.

Gunmen had blocked the road with logs and opened fire on a Toyota Sienna conveying fingerling fish from Lagos to Akwa Ibom. The driver, Nana Aghogho, 51, and two passengers, Oseghale Mathias, 40, and John Edobor, 24, were rescued unhurt after police engaged the attackers in a shootout.

The barricade was cleared immediately to restore traffic flow.

Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, praised the swift response of the operatives and urged residents to report suspicious movements.

He said the command remains committed to flushing out criminals from Edo’s highways, where cases of kidnapping have been frequent in recent months.

Last month, police rescued passengers abducted along the Benin and Ekpoma road and arrested suspects linked to kidnapping syndicates.

CSP Yamu said the latest successes reflect “a renewed strategy of rapid response and proactive engagement” in line with directives from the Inspector General of Police.