By DADA AYOKHAI
A notorious kidnapper was recently killed while four kidnapped individuals were rescued in a joint operation carried out by 4 Brigade of the 2 Division, Nigerian Army and the Edo State Security Corps in Warake Forest, Owan East Local Government Area.
The operation, codename “Operation IGBO DANU 1”, was carried out on March 3, 2026, with personnel from the Nigerian Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and local vigilantes.
According to Captain Kennedy Anyanwu, Assistant Director Army Public Relations, troops responded to gunshots in the forest, pursuing the kidnappers and neutralising the notorious kidnapper who had been terrorising Auchi and surrounding areas. A suspected kidnapper was arrested in a separate operation .
The superior firepower of troops forced the remaining criminals to abandon their victims and flee into the bush. Four victims including Stella Abbas (Age 29), Tina Ododa (Age 19), Razak Rashid (Age 27) and Mutanibi Kalifa (Age 16), were rescued unhurt and later reunited with their families. Items recovered from the neutralised kidnapper are cash amount of Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (#650,000) only, footwear, power bank.and mobile phones.
In a separate operation on 3 March 2026, troops in collaboration with the Edo State Security Corps, raided a house in Ujemen, Esan West Local Government Area suspected to be a kidnapper’s hideout.
A 39-year-old suspect, Omogbegha Solomon, was arrested during the raid. During the operation, troops discovered a shrine containing charms and photographs of various individuals in an abandoned room within the compound. The shrine was destroyed in-situ, and the suspect was handed over to the Nigeria Police Force Ekpoma Division for further investigation.
The Commander 4 Brigade, Brigadier General Ahmed Balogun, commended the troops for their dexterity and urged them to sustain the aggressive onslaught against all the criminal elements in line with directives from the General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Major General Chinedu Nnebeife. He further reassured the residents of Edo State of the Brigade’s commitment towards the protection of lives and property in the state.
Troops Rescue Kidnapped Victims in Warrake, Notorious Kidnapper Killed
