The police and hunters in Ondo State have rescued 12 passengers kidnapped by suspected kidnappers in Isua Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko South-East Native Authorities Space of the state.
This was disclosed on Saturday in a press release by the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Abayomi Jimoh.
He mentioned the victims have been kidnapped within the early hours of Saturday (yesterday) whereas travelling in two industrial Hummer buses from Benue State to Ibadan.
“The command obtained a misery report at about 0130hrs that two industrial Hummer buses conveying passengers from Benue State en route Ibadan had been violently intercepted by suspected armed kidnappers. The attackers reportedly pressured a number of passengers out of the automobiles and marched them into a close-by forest,” he mentioned.
Jimoh defined that the police instantly launched a coordinated rescue operation following the report.
“Following the report, the police instantly activated a coordinated rescue operation as operatives of the Command, alongside native hunters and different safety stakeholders, have been swiftly mobilised to the scene with the first goal of rescuing the victims and apprehending the perpetrators,” he acknowledged.
Based on him, the mixed rescue crew commenced an intensive bush-combing operation throughout the encompassing forests and tough terrains the place the victims have been believed to have been taken, whereas intelligence-led surveillance and strategic monitoring efforts have been intensified to path the fleeing suspects and facilitate the rescue of the remaining victims.
He added, “The sustained strain mounted by the mixed safety crew yielded important success as 12 kidnapped victims, together with the drivers of the affected buses, have been efficiently rescued alive.”
The police spokesman acknowledged that the rescued victims had been taken to the hospital for medical consideration and assist, whereas preparations have been being made to reunite them with their households.
Jimoh mentioned efforts have been ongoing to rescue the remaining victims and produce the perpetrators to justice, including that the state Commissioner of Police, Felix Ohagwu, had personally visited the scene of the incident.
He mentioned the commissioner held strategic engagements with group heads, native vigilante teams and different stakeholders within the space, including that further tactical and intelligence belongings had been deployed to bolster the continued rescue and manhunt operations.
