Somtochukwu

The alarming level of insecurity in Edo state worsened on Friday, with the kidnapping of Chairman of the Esan Central Local Government Council, Prof. Waziri Edokpa.

Although details of the kidnapping are still sketchy, Igbere TV gathered that the council boss was taken away by unknown gunmen with contact yet to be established with the family.

Similarly, a bus filled with passengers belonging to a popular transport company in the state (name withheld), was said to have been equally abducted.

Both incidents happened along the popular Benin – Ekpoma Expressway which has, in recent time, become a ‘safe haven’ for kidnappers and armed bandits.

Only today, a 400-level female medial student of the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, was kidnapped on the same road with her abductors demanding for N7 million ransom.

Commenting on the incident, a crime reporter in the state, Mr Festus Alenkhe, said, “attention has now shifted to all major express roads linking Benin city as suspected bandits are now unleashing mayhem on innocents travellers on the various routes.”

Meanwhile, Igbere TV gathered that all passengers of the transport company traveling to Abuja from Benin were kidnapped and the driver reportedly killed. 

As at press time, the whereabouts of all the kidnapped passenger-victims – including the council chairman – are unknown.

When contacted, spokesman for the Edo state police command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said the police was yet to be briefed on the incident.

“We have not been briefed (yet), the command is not aware of such development, once I am briefed, I will let you know,” the police spokesman said on phone, Friday afternoon.

Igbere TV, however, gathered that local government council chairmen from Edo South are presently in a closed-door meeting with the commissioner of police, Johnson Babatunde Kokumo.  

“The security meeting is aimed at finding a lasting solution to the current increase in crime rate in the state”, a source at the meeting disclosed.

The people are now appealing to the police authority and state government to deploy the mobile policemen recently posted to Edo state.

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