Police Rescue 13 Young Shall Grow Passengers After Gun Battle With Kidnappers

Police Rescue 13 Young Shall Grow Passengers After Gun Battle With Kidnappers

 

Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have rescued all 13 passengers abducted from a commercial bus belonging to Young Shall Grow Motors along the Benin-Lagos Expressway after a coordinated security operation involving drones, aerial surveillance and intensive bush-combing.

The victims were kidnapped on May 9 at Ogua Community on the Benin-Lagos highway when armed hoodlums attacked the bus travelling from Akwa Ibom State to Lagos. A female passenger reportedly sustained gunshot injuries during the attack.

In a statement issued on Saturday in Benin City, the command’s spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said police operatives swiftly launched a rescue mission immediately after the incident.

According to her, five passengers — two adults and three children — were initially rescued as security operatives sustained pressure on the kidnappers through intelligence-led operations and technological support.

Ikoedem disclosed that police operatives later engaged the abductors in a gun duel on May 10, leading to the rescue of two additional victims.

She added that the remaining six passengers were subsequently rescued unhurt, bringing the total number of rescued victims to 13.

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, commended the courage and resilience of the operatives involved in the operation.

Agbonika assured residents and motorists that the command was intensifying efforts to apprehend the kidnappers, noting that ongoing bush-combing operations were aimed at tracking down the fleeing suspects.