The Edo State Police Command has arrested 13 suspected kidnappers and rescued nine victims during intelligence-led operations across the state in August 2026.
Commissioner of Police, CP Patrick Daaoor, disclosed this on Wednesday at the Command’s end-of-month press conference in Benin City, while reaffirming the Command’s commitment to proactive and collaborative policing.
Giving a breakdown of the Command’s achievements for August, CP Daaoor said the police also arrested 14 suspects in connection with armed robbery and other violent crimes, 19 suspected cultists, six suspects for alleged human trafficking, five suspects for store breaking and stealing, and 12 suspects in connection with Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Several of the SGBV suspects have already been arraigned in court.
The Command also recovered eight vehicles linked to suspected criminal activities within the month.
One of the major breakthroughs, according to the CP, was the arrest of five suspected members of a kidnapping and banditry network operating along the Auchi/Okene axis.
He explained that following the abduction of Mohammed Tasiu Imokhe and his wife at Jattu, Etsako West, on August 8, 2026, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Violent Crime Response Unit, working with intelligence from the Technical Intelligence Unit, TIU, Abuja, tracked and arrested Malam Jibril Ibrahim, Mohammed Abubakar, Tukur Adam a.k.a. Dogo, Musa Ibrahim and Iro Ibrahim on August 30, 2026 in Niger State.
“The suspects have confessed to the Jattu kidnapping and several other kidnapping operations in Edo and Kogi States,” CP Daaoor said.
“Acting on information obtained from the suspects, operatives subsequently recovered two fabricated AK-47 rifles, one pump-action rifle, six magazines and 200 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition from the Okpella forest on September 1st 2026. Profiling of the suspects and efforts to apprehend other members of the gang are ongoing.”
The CP said the Command has sustained a proactive, intelligence-led and collaborative strategy in partnership with the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, NSCDC, Edo State Security Corps and other stakeholders.
“Let me be clear; Edo State is not a safe 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,” he warned.
CP Daaoor assured law-abiding residents of professional and rights-based policing, and urged the public to provide credible and timely information to aid security operations.
“As we enter September, the Command will sustain its intelligence-led operations against kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, trafficking, SGBV and other forms of criminality,” he said.
He commended officers of the Command, sister security agencies, hunters, forest guards and community partners for their sacrifices, and appreciated the media for its partnership in reporting security matters responsibly.
The Command said its objective remains to make Edo State safer and more secure for residents, businesses and visitors.