Thursday, February 12, 2026 - Suspected kidnappers have abducted five persons, including a police officer, in two separate operations by kidnappers in Akoko Edo, in Edo North, Edo State.
The National Coordinator, Movement for the Advancement of
Akoko Edo People, Bode Ekundayo, disclosed this in a statement made available
to journalists on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
According to the statement, the first two kidnappings took
place at the Makeke community health centre, where the gunmen kidnapped Tope
Oriloye, a female secondary school student and Samuel Ilesanmi, who had rushed
his son to the health centre with his wife.
Ekundayo also said a gang of kidnappers invaded the
residence of Police Inspector Segun Obanowa from Uma/Imoga in Akoko Edo and
abducted him, his wife and daughter, later releasing his wife to go arrange for
ransom to free her husband and daughter.
He stated that the kidnappers who abducted Oriloye and
Ilesanmi had already contacted the family asking for a N100 million ransom for
both of them
“Daring kidnappers struck again in Akoko Edo, this time at
Makeke village, less than a kilometre away from Ososo in the eastern part of
Akoko Edo, taking away a secondary school female student, Tope Oriloye and
Samuel Ilesanmi on February 8 at the community health centre,” the statement
read.
“In a similar operation in Auchi, kidnappers invaded the
residence of Police Inspector Segun Obanowa from Uma/Imoga in Akoko Edo and
kidnapped him, his wife and daughter, later releasing his wife to go look for
ransom to free her husband and daughter.”
Ekundayo noted that as soon as the news of the kidnapping
hit the community, Makeke hunters and vigilantes mobilised and entered the
wilderness, combing far and near till the early hours of the following day, all
their efforts to no avail
"However, the kidnappers called in the evening on
February 9 to ask for N100 million for Tope Oriloye and Samuel Ilesanmi to be
released.
"This trend of demanding N100 million to commence
ransom negotiation is becoming a familiar thing, having manifested its
irritating trend in previous kidnap ransom negotiations.”
He stated that the Movement for the Advancement of Akoko Edo
People is again calling on the Edo State government and the Akoko Edo Local
Government to “strike while the iron is still hot.
“We have written, warned, and passed timely information to
all security agencies and the tiers of government in Edo State earlier. Or is
it not yet obvious that the worsening scourge will snowball into intractable
catastrophes in future? Akoko Edo is surrounded,” he said.
“Is it not clear that gunmen from Benue and Kwara States are
fast descending on Edo State, their open gateway being the vast wilderness of
Akoko Edo?."
The spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, Eno
Ikoedem, confirmed the kidnapping incident in Makeke, adding that suspects have
been arrested in connection with the crime.
“I can confirm to you that a kidnapping case occurred at
Makeke Village in Akoko Ado Local Government in Edo North. Some suspects are in
police custody and efforts to rescue the victims are ongoing,” the PPRO
said.
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