AKAAKA-LED ANTI-KIDNAPPING OPERATION WITH VCRU TRACKS SUSPECTS TO NIGER STATE AS CP PATRICK DAAOR BRIEFS NEWSMEN
The Edo State Police Command has recorded a major breakthrough in its fight against kidnapping following the arrest of five suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate, with two AK-47 rifles, one pump-action firearm and ammunition recovered during the operation.
The operation was led by SP Cletus Akaaka, Officer in Charge of the Edo State Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit, in conjunction with personnel of the Edo State Police VCRU, following intelligence-led investigations into the kidnapping of a couple in Jatu, Uzairue, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.
The development was disclosed on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, when the Commissioner of Police, Edo State Command, CP Patrick Daaor, briefed newsmen at the State Police Command Headquarters in Benin City.
During the briefing, the Commissioner of Police displayed various arms and ammunition recovered by the Command from criminal suspects, as the police intensified their operations against kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes across Edo State.
The latest operation began following the abduction of Mohammed Tasiu Imokhe and his wife at their residence in Jatu, Uzairue, Etsako West, on August 8, 2026.
According to a Police Situation Report obtained by IBN News, the couple were allegedly abducted by members of a criminal gang who later collected a substantial ransom before releasing them.
Rather than ending with the release of the victims, the case triggered a wider intelligence operation aimed at identifying the people behind the abduction and dismantling the network allegedly responsible.
Following intelligence received through the Technical Intelligence Unit, Abuja, operatives of the Edo State Anti-Kidnapping Unit commenced investigations that eventually took them outside Edo State.
The operation was led by SP Cletus Akaaka and carried out in conjunction with men of the VCRU, Edo State Command.
The investigation reportedly led police operatives to Niger State, where they began tracking suspected members of the alleged kidnapping network.
One of the major developments in the operation was the arrest of a suspected native doctor identified as Malam Jibril Ibrahim at Paiko, along the Abuja–Minna Expressway.
According to the police situation report, information allegedly obtained from Ibrahim during the investigation subsequently assisted the operatives in identifying and arresting four other suspected members of the syndicate.
The four suspects were identified as Mohammed Abubakar; Tukur Adam, also known as Dogo; Musa Ibrahim; and Iro Ibrahim.
They were reportedly arrested at locations around Gwada and Bida Road in Niger State.
Police described the suspects as suspected notorious bandits allegedly operating along the Kaduna/Niger axis.
The arrests have now opened another phase of the investigation, with the police trying to determine how widely the alleged network operated and whether the suspects were involved in other kidnapping cases across Edo, Kogi, Niger and neighbouring states.
A major aspect of the operation was the recovery of firearms.
Police said operatives recovered two AK-47 rifles, one pump-action firearm and ammunitions.
Photographs from the operation show the recovered weapons, rifle magazines and ammunition displayed by the police.
The recovered firearms were also among the exhibits displayed by CP Patrick Daaor during his briefing with journalists at the Edo State Police Command headquarters in Benin City today.
The recovery of the weapons is significant to the investigation because detectives will have to establish their source and determine whether they were used in the Jatu operation or other violent crimes.
The police are also expected to conduct further investigations into the movement and ownership of the weapons and compare available evidence with information from previous kidnapping cases.
According to the police SITREP, the arrested suspects allegedly confessed to taking part in the Jatu kidnapping.
They were also reportedly linked, through their alleged confessions, to the New Edo Line kidnapping in Okene, Kogi State, where the driver was shot dead.
The suspects were further said to have admitted involvement in several other kidnapping operations allegedly carried out within the region over the past three years.
However, the alleged confessions remain allegations at this stage and will have to be supported by further investigation and evidence before any criminal liability can be established in court.
The police are now using information allegedly provided by the suspects to trace other suspected members of the network.
Investigators are also working to identify the locations of alleged operational equipment and establish the roles played by each suspect in the criminal organisation.
The development highlights the growing importance of intelligence-led policing in the fight against kidnapping in Nigeria.
Kidnapping networks often operate across state boundaries, making it difficult for a single command to dismantle them through conventional patrols alone.
In the Jatu case, the investigation moved from Edo State to Niger State following intelligence obtained by the police.
The involvement of the Technical Intelligence Unit in Abuja, the Edo Anti-Kidnapping Unit and the VCRU also points to the importance of intelligence sharing and cooperation between specialised police units.
The operation also comes shortly after SP Cletus Akaaka assumed responsibility as Officer in Charge of the Edo State Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit.
His deployment was part of the Command’s efforts to strengthen its response to kidnapping and other serious crimes through intelligence gathering, surveillance, investigation and coordinated operations.
For communities that have suffered repeated kidnapping attacks, the ability of investigators to follow suspects beyond the immediate crime scene could prove important in breaking criminal networks rather than merely arresting individual suspects.
The operation also sends a message to suspected kidnappers who believe they can escape justice by moving from one state to another.
However, the effectiveness of the investigation will ultimately depend on the ability of the police to convert intelligence and alleged confessions into solid evidence that can withstand scrutiny in court.
During the same briefing, CP Patrick Daaor also displayed a white Mercedes-Benz GLK recovered in a separate criminal investigation.
The vehicle was presented alongside other exhibits recovered by the Command as part of its wider crime-fighting operations.
The recovery of the Mercedes-Benz GLK is separate from the Jatu kidnapping investigation, and the Command is expected to provide further details concerning the circumstances surrounding its recovery and the persons allegedly connected with the vehicle.
CP Daaor’s briefing comes as the Edo Police Command continues efforts to increase operational pressure on criminal elements across the state.
The Commissioner has placed emphasis on intelligence gathering, police visibility, improved response to security threats and closer cooperation with other security agencies.
The latest arrests demonstrate that criminal investigations can extend far beyond the location where a crime was originally committed.
For the families and communities affected by kidnapping, the bigger test now is whether the arrests will lead to the identification and prosecution of the wider network behind the attacks.
The Anti-Kidnapping Unit and VCRU are expected to continue profiling the five suspects, identifying other alleged members of the syndicate and investigating their possible involvement in additional kidnapping cases.
Investigators are also expected to examine the recovered firearms and ammunition and determine whether they are connected to previous criminal incidents.
The Edo State Police Command is expected to communicate further developments as the investigation progresses.
For now, the five suspects remain in police custody while investigation continues.
They are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.
IBN NEWS
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