Edo police arrested 13 suspected kidnappers, rescued 9 victims, and recovered guns and ammunition in special August operations.
Police officers from the Edo State Police Command have arrested 13 suspected kidnappers and rescued 9 kidnapped victims across various communities.
The successful operations were officially announced on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, by the state police leadership in Benin City during their monthly press meeting.
The State Commissioner of Police, CP Patrick Daaor, shared the big achievements recorded by police teams during August.
Apart from saving 9 kidnapped citizens, police officers also arrested fourteen armed robbers, nineteen cult group members, six human traffickers, and recovered eight stolen vehicles.
The main reason for these police raids is to wipe out criminal gangs and make streets, roads, and bushes safe for families and businesses in Edo State.
One major victory happened when police officers tracked down five dangerous members of a kidnapping gang operating along the Auchi Okene road.
The gang had kidnapped a man named Mohammed Tasiu Imokhe and his wife at Jattu in Etsako West Local Government Area on August 8.
Working with secret computer tracking teams from Abuja, police officers followed the bad men to Niger State, arrested five gang members on August 30, and recovered two AK-47 rifles, one pump action gun, and two hundred rounds of live bullets hidden inside Okpella forest.
The police chief praised local hunters, forest guards, army officers, and regular citizens who gave useful secret news to help the police catch criminals.
He promised that police officers will keep patrolling towns and bushes so that bad people will have no place to hide.
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Sharing details about the major arrests made by his officers, the police commissioner explained how police teams caught the kidnappers.
Outlining the confession made by the arrested gang members, Commissioner of Police CP Patrick Daaor stated that “the suspects had confessed to the Jattu kidnapping as well as several other kidnapping operations in Edo and Kogi states,” adding that “acting on information obtained from the suspects, operatives subsequently recovered two fabricated AK-47 rifles, a pump action rifle, six magazines and 200 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition from the Okpella forest”.
Warning all criminals that Edo State is no longer safe for illegal activities, CP Patrick Daaor warned that “Edo State is not a haven for criminals. Whether you are a kidnapper, armed robber, cultist, trafficker or involved in any other criminal activity, the Command will pursue you, wherever you hide”. Police teams are currently hunting down remaining members of the kidnapping network across neighboring states.
Jennifer Baba is a journalist, international news correspondent, and writer at Moderncrux, where she covers artificial intelligence, fintech, emerging technologies, global politics, and international affairs. Based in Nigeria, she is passionate about transforming complex global developments into clear, engaging stories that inform and inspire readers.
