Police rescue 16 abducted passengers in Edo

Police in Edo State, Nigeria’s South-south, have rescued 16 of the 29 passengers abducted on Friday evening along Benin-Auchi Road by suspected kidnappers.

Moses Yamu, the police spokesperson in Edo, confirmed the rescue on Saturday in Benin while reacting to the incident.

The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the gunmen attacked an 18-seater bus, which belonged to the New Edo Line Transport Company, and two other vehicles, where the 29 passengers were forcefully taken away.

Sources said the gunmen ambushed the buses on the Sobe axis of the road and dragged the victims into the bush.

Shortly after the incident, the sources said a team of security operatives, comprising police, army, local vigilantes and hunters, began combing the bush, and successfully rescued some of the victims.

Mr Yamu, a chief superintendent of police, said that the 16 passengers were rescued unhurt. He assured that the police would leave no stone unturned to rescue the others.

Abduction for ransom has become one of the prevalent crimes in many Nigerian cities, with just anyone, including clerics and students, as targets.

In Edo, the situation is compounded by cult-related attacks and killings.

The police said in November last year that the spate of cult violence and the proliferation of arms in the state were worrisome.

The then-Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo, while announcing a ban on the activities of Okaigheles (youth leaders) in Edo South District, June last year, in a renewed effort to tackle the menace, said the state at some point lost 150 people in five months to cult-related clashes.

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Mr Obaseki’s successor, Monday Okpebholo, said in November last year that the state loses over $1 billion worth of investments annually because of cult-related violence.

Mr Okpebholo, just like his predecessor, has declared war on cultism, but the government’s efforts seem to yield little or no success as the killings continue.