Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have rescued a mother and her three children from captivity in the state.
The victims were kidnapped on September 3, 2026, from their farm in Okpella community, Etsako East Local Government Area of the state.
The command's spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said the victims were rescued by police operatives, in collaboration with the Edo State Security Corps (ESSC) and local hunters.
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She said the police were alerted to the kidnapping of the woman, identified as Patience Omonete, 40, and her three children, aged 14, 12 and 10, who were abducted while working on their farm and whisked away into the forest.
According to her, a security team was immediately mobilised and embarked on a coordinated rescue operation in the forest around the Onomi-Iddo axis of Okpella.
She said the intense manhunt mounted by the security operatives forced the kidnappers to abandon their victims in the forest and flee.
"The woman and her three children were subsequently rescued unhurt and reunited with their family," she said.
Ikoedem added that efforts were ongoing to identify and apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
In another operation, the Command arrested 22 suspects allegedly involved in various crimes and criminality in the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Patrick Daaor, said the suspects were arrested in one week across the state.
He said the suspects were arrested over alleged kidnapping, murder, defilement, armed robbery among other crimes.
According to him, the operatives rescued five kidnapped victims from captivity unhurt and reunited with their families during the period.
He said the suspects included nine arrested over alleged armed robbery, seven for alleged murder while one for rape.
He said among the suspects were members of a notorious 15-man gang terrorising the Benin City metropolis and environs.
He explained that the suspects were arrested at different locations within Benin City, adding that efforts were ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the gang.
