Edo State police command says some abducted persons have been rescued.
The victims were rescued on Sunday, 4 July 2021.
The rescue was possible due to the credible information the officers received from the public at about 07:35 am.
Officers heard how a 14 Seater Toyota Hiace commercial bus, white in colour with Reg. No. XA 525 KRF, driving by one Mr Karimu Momoh from Auchi to Benin, was intercepted by a group of suspected kidnappers.
The victims rescued by the Edo State police
The bus was ambushed at Igieduma village on Benin-Auchi road in Edo State, where nine persons were abducted and forced into the forest.
The DPO Ehor Division, CSP Benafa Benjamin, immediately took some officers and the local vigilante group to comb the forest.
Standard Gazette gathered that the kidnappers opened fire upon sighting the armed officers who retaliated.
The suspects abandoned their victims and took to their heels with some sustaining injuries.
The victims, three males and six females, were rescued unhurt.
The state commissioner, CP Philip Aliyu Ogbadu, has called on the general public and especially communities around Benin-Auchi road to continue to support the police in its fight against criminal elements in the state.
He further stated that the Command would not relent in combating crime and criminality in Edo state.