Kidnappers abduct travellers in Edo, police rescue 16

The spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, Moses Yamu, on Saturday said that 16 passengers abducted along Benin-Auchi Road on Friday have been rescued.

A video on Saturday morning showed an empty Edoline bus and a Toyota Corolla car with the narrator, a male, saying that kidnappers had taken about 18 people into the bush.

The narrator noted that the abduction had just happened, and the police were also spotted at the scene of the incident, apparently launching a rescue operation.

The video also showed several cars and heavy-duty vehicles parked along the road as the drivers were not sure whether to continue their journey.

However, the narrator, who had left the scene, encouraged them to continue as the police were already at the scene of the incident.

It was gathered that the victims in the Edoline bus were on their way to Abuja when they were forced into the bush by the kidnappers before men of the Nigerian Police Force came.

When contacted on Saturday, Yamu confirmed that 16 of the victims have been rescued so far.

He was, however, silent on the number of people kidnapped.

He said that police have intensified the search and rescue operation in collaboration with local vigilantes and hunters to ensure the release of the other passengers in the kidnapper’s den.

He said, “The kidnapping took place on Friday at about 16:30 hrs. Sixteen of the victims have been rescued so far, as the search and rescue operation by the command in collaboration with vigilantes and hunters continues.”