Mr. Bright Edafe, the state command’s police public relations officer, claimed in a statement that the alleged kidnappers were forced to flee after authorities searched the woodland where they had been holding the victims.
The statement said: “On 30/8/2023 at 1330hours, the DPO Oghara division received a distress call that two persons were suspected to have been kidnapped at Oghara-Ugbenu link road and their whereabouts unknown.
“In an ingenious display of crime fighting craft, the Divisional Police Officer of Oghara, Olasunkanmi Musiliu, while working on credible and technically generated information, led a combined team of police operatives of the Division, Anti-Cult Unit, SIB Unit, and the local vigilante groups into Oghara-Ugbenu forest on August 31, 2023, about 11:30a.m.
“The operatives relentlessly combed the forest, which forced the kidnappers to abandon the victims and escaped. The operatives rescued the two victims unhurt and have since reunited then with their families.
“Four live cartridges, one Tecno Spark phone, one ATM card and three sim cards of different telecommunication networks were recovered from the scene. Regardless of the victim’s rescue, efforts are on top gear to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspected kidnappers.”