The Edo State Police Command has rescued 11 of the 18 passengers kidnapped along the Benin–Akure highway, near Obarenren village in Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state.
The spokesperson of the Command, ASP Eno Ikoedem, disclosed this to newsmen on Monday in Benin City, adding that seven of the victims are still in captivity.
Ikoedem said the victims were reportedly abducted on December 12, 2025, by gunmen who ambushed and forced their vehicle to a halt at gunpoint.
She explained that the victims were rescued by a combined team of police, army personnel, and vigilante groups who combed the bush in search of them.
According to her, the police received a distress call and immediately mobilised, in collaboration with the army and local vigilante groups, to comb the bush in search of the victims.
“On Sunday, 11 of the victims were rescued while seven others were still in the captivity of their abductors,” she said.
She added that the rescued victims have been reunited with their families and assured that operatives of the command are doing everything humanly possible to rescue the remaining victims.
She called on members of the public to remain calm, assuring that the remaining victims would be rescued unharmed.
