IGUEBEN TRAIN STATION KIDNAP:... Police rescued 12 without payment of ransome...only one policeman with a riffle guiding that facility- Obaseki

From Chris Akhabue

The  Edo State Commissioner of Police CP Mohamed  Dankwanbo has announced the release of 12 victims kidnapped last week at the Igueben train Station in Iguenen local government area of Edo state by armed gunmen.

He said  the victims were rescued in Udo forest in Ugboha village  in Esan South East local government of the State.

According to him,

"Our men in collaboration with other security forces have been in the forest for a week now and it was there they intercepted those people because from the intelligence gathered, the kidnappers and the victims were roaming that area, so, yesterday night, the security forces laid an ambush and in trying to move the victims from one area to the other, the security forces intercepted them. So, that was exactly how they were able to effect their release. 

Addressing newsmen at the Police Cottage Hospital in GRA, Benin City, where the rescued victims  had been taken for tests and rehabilitation after the rescue operation, the Edo Police Boss said that efforts were on, not only to rescue the remaining two abducted victims but also to rid the state of criminal elements to ensure a crime free environment for all.

"As I speak with you, we are making progress to make sure the other two remaining  victims are released unhurt and also to rid the state of criminal elements to ensure a crime free environment for all".

Also on ground at the Police Cottage Hospital was the Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki who went round to see the released victims on their hospital bed where they are currently being rehabilitated before being reunited with their families.

Speaking with Journalists at the hospital, the governor thank God and the security forces for their dexterity and resilience that culminated in the rescue of the kidnapped victims.

According to him,

"we thank God  that we have been able to secure the release of  almost all the people that were abducted last week at Igueben train station by bandits in Edo State .

It has been a gruelling experience, something we never prayed for, something we hope never to happen again. We have tested the will of our security forces and I am so glad that the system we have  in place is resilient. 

"You can see that   within the last one week, we have been on the trail of the kidnappers and we contained the kidnappers within the area  and they could not leave the area and with all the intelligence and the area support we got from the Police and the technology support, we were able to track them and with the training of the special forces we have, and with the support of all the other members of the  forces we put together, we were able to secure the release of 12 out of the 14 that were being held hostage unharmed and we think it is worth something celebrating, something we should thank and appreciate members of our security forces for, for the sacrifices they put in, the endless and sleepless nights which they put into this effort and I think it deserves to be commended  and we thank God that today is remembrance day, we have something to rejoice about and so we thank our security forces and we shall continue to invest in our security system of the state and we will continue to encourage the collaboration of our security forces and make sure we continue to invest in the requisite technology and equipment to carb this kind of incidence.

The governor however expressed his displeasure that the facility is inadequately protected. 

"I must also express our disappointment at the authorities of the Railway Corporation because after the Kaduna incident, one would have expected that they would have secured their facilities better. So, for six men to have entered and kidnapped about 30 people is something I think should be investigated. It does not speak well of their preparedness to run a safe and efficient rail transport system in the country and it does not give Nigerians the confidence to use that mode of transportation. 

"You can not tell me that that facility at Igueben train Station has only one policeman with a riffle guiding that facility particularly after what happened in Kaduna.

"I believe this agency knows what it is doing and should therefore investigate what happened to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen to any Nigerian anywhere in this country.

The governor alleged that from intelligence gathering, there are accomplices among the traditional rulers  in the districts.

  

 According to him,

"We are working and consulting with the commissioner of Police and with the service chiefs  because we have information that some traditional rulers particularly in that area are not respecting government decisions to make sure that grazing land are not given to herders in their forests. I have instructed that those traditional rulers be investigated and anyone of them  found to be harbouring people they should not harbour in their domain will have questions to answer because in communities that have cooperated, we are not having this kind of incidents.

The governor further stated that  there was no ransome paid to secure the release of the kidnapped victims.

"There was no money or ransome paid to secure the release of the abducted victims because the special forces went into the forest and overpowered the kidnappers who ran away with only two of their victims and they left the rest and the special forces and members of the security team, the military, the Police, the DSS and the vigilantes and hunters to secure the rescue of the twelve abducted victims that were brought to this hospital, he concluded.