Troops kill suspected kidnapper, rescue four victims in Edo forest raid

By Zainab Uzomah|Abuja

Troops of the Nigerian Army have killed a suspected kidnapper, rescued four abducted victims and arrested another suspect during security operations in Edo State.

According to a statement signed by Captain Kennedy Anyanwu, Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for 4 Brigade in Benin City, the operations were carried out by troops of the brigade under 2 Division Nigerian Army in collaboration with the Edo State Security Corps during Operation IGBO DANU 1.

The army said troops, working alongside personnel from the Nigerian Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and local vigilantes, launched a night operation on 3 March in Warake Forest in Auchi Local Government Area after hearing gunshots during a patrol.

During the operation, soldiers engaged the suspected kidnappers, killing one of them while others fled into the bush under pressure from the troops’ firepower. Four victims – Stella Abbas, 29, Tina Ododa, 19, Razak Rashid, 27, and Mutanibi Kalifa, 16 – were rescued unharmed and later reunited with their families.

Items recovered from the dead suspect included ₦650,000 in cash, footwear, a power bank and mobile phones.

In a separate operation the same day, troops working with the Edo State Security Corps raided a house in Ujemen in Esan West Local Government Area suspected to be a kidnappers’ hideout.

A 39-year-old suspect, Omogbegha Solomon, was arrested during the raid. Soldiers also discovered a shrine containing charms and photographs of several individuals in an abandoned room within the compound. The shrine was destroyed and thesuspect handed over to the Nigeria Police Force in Ekpoma for further investigation.

The Commander of 4 Brigade, Brigadier General Ahmed Balogun, praised the troops for their efforts and urged them to sustain operations against criminal groups. He also assured residents of Edo State of the army’s commitment to protecting lives and property.