The past week witnessed a renewed security offensive against kidnappers, cultists and vandals in Edo State, with major breakthroughs recorded across Ekpoma, Igarra, Benin City and Uhunmwonde as part of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s efforts to strengthen security and protect lives and property. As the saying goes, “When the hunter’s gun is loud, the monkey learns to keep quiet.”
From the rescue of kidnapped university students to the recovery of stolen telecommunications batteries and the arrest of suspected cultists, the week offered fresh evidence that security forces are increasingly targeting not only criminals on the ground but also the networks that sustain their activities.
The most dramatic operation occurred in Ekpoma on July 14, 2026, when a joint security team rescued three students of Ambrose Alli University abducted by suspected kidnappers.
The incident, which began on July 12 at Ujemen G.T. Extension, ended tragically for Peter Ekpen Adolor, a 24-year-old 300-Level student who was shot in the abdomen while attempting to respond to a distress call outside a hostel. He later died at Eguavoen Hospital, Ekpoma.
The three abducted students, Favour Okoroje, 21, Balogun Precious, 19, and Praise Obagbalu, 18, were rescued after security operatives stormed the kidnappers’ hideout in Erah Forest.
The operation, involving the police, Nigerian Army, Edo State Security Corps and local hunters, also led to the recovery of three AK-47 rifles, 36 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, five mobile phones and other items. One suspected kidnapper was neutralised, while another was arrested with gunshot injuries.
The rescue was significant, but the death of Adolor remains a painful reminder that even successful security operations can come at a heavy human cost.
The security pressure continued in Imoga Forest, where police operatives rescued cattle dealer Peter Balogun, popularly known as “Oga Peter,” who had been kidnapped along the Igarra-Auchi Expressway on July 7.
The police operation, supported by drones and a helicopter deployed by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, reportedly forced the kidnappers to abandon their victim and flee deeper into the forest.
The development is strategically important. When kidnappers begin abandoning their captives because of sustained aerial and ground pressure, it suggests that the security architecture is gradually disrupting the confidence and operational freedom of criminal gangs.
As the Nigerian proverb says, “The hunter who knows the forest will not be lost.” The growing deployment of intelligence, drones, helicopters and coordinated ground operations appears to be changing the dynamics of the fight against kidnapping in Edo.
Beyond kidnapping, the NSCDC Edo Command recorded another major breakthrough with the arrest of members of an alleged telecommunications vandalism syndicate and the recovery of eight stolen lithium batteries valued at more than ₦16m.
The batteries were allegedly stolen from an IHS telecommunications facility, IHS-EDO0769A. The investigation led to the arrest of the alleged syndicate leader, identified as Engineer Yusuf of Okada, an alleged insider, two suspected receivers and the alleged main receiver, Victor Ogbeifun of Igbanke, Orhionmwon LGA.
Ogbeifun, however, denied knowing that the batteries were stolen, claiming he was told they had been condemned and that he bought each for ₦40,000.
The case exposed an often-ignored dimension of infrastructure vandalism: the crime cannot thrive without a market. The arrest of alleged criminal receivers therefore represents an important shift from merely arresting vandals to attacking the economic chain that makes the crime profitable.
In Obazagbon community, Uhunmwonde LGA, NSCDC operatives also foiled an alleged pipeline vandalism attempt. The suspects reportedly opened fire before escaping into the bush, abandoning five long gas cylinders, two motorcycles, two shovels and two digger heads.
The incidents demonstrate that the protection of critical infrastructure remains a major security challenge, particularly as criminals increasingly target valuable telecommunications and energy assets.
Another encouraging development came from Esan West LGA, where a 29-year-old aspiring musician reportedly renounced cultism and surrendered a Beretta pistol to the authorities.
The decision followed an intervention by the acting Chairman of Esan West LGA, Mr. Blessing Ebhodaghe, who reportedly counselled youths against cultism and other criminal activities.
The case offers a reminder that security is not only about arrests and firepower. Prevention, dialogue and rehabilitation can also produce results, particularly among young people who have not yet become deeply entrenched in violent crime.
However, enforcement remained firm in Benin City, the state capital where 12 suspected cultists were arrested during a raid by the Edo State Special Security Squad, codenamed Operation Flush Out Kidnappers and Cultists, at Uzebu Quarters, Asoro Hill, along Ekenwan Road.
The suspects were handed over to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.
The squad’s intervention in Iyanomo community, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, over a leadership dispute also showed the importance of preventing local disagreements from degenerating into violence or creating opportunities for criminal elements.
The week under review also witnessed the commencement of the trial of four members of a kidnapping gang linked to the June 14, 2026, Vegetable Market abduction in Benin City before the Special Criminal Court 1, Benin City.
The defendants, Marvelous Isaac, 32, Wisdom Michael, 36, Rufus Emete Michael, 30, and Gift Raphael, 27, are facing an 11-count charge bordering on alleged kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms.
They all pleaded not guilty and remain presumed innocent.
The prosecution, led by Stephen Okoror, Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Justice, called five witnesses.
Mrs Oseghale, the alleged June 14 victim, told the court that armed men blocked her family’s vehicle at the Vegetable Market after church, shot one of its tyres and abducted her after her husband escaped, taking her to a forest and allegedly dispossessing her of jewellery worth over ₦15m. Her husband identified all four defendants as members of the gang.
The owner of the Lexus RX 350 used in the operation also testified that he was kidnapped on April 23, 2026, and held captive for five days before his family paid ₦5.5m ransom for his release.
He said the vehicle remained in the kidnappers’ possession until it was recovered by the police following the arrest of one of the defendants, Marvellous Isaac, whom he also identified as a member of the gang that kidnapped him.
Other witnesses linked the same pepper-red Lexus RX 350 to alleged abductions along Ekehuan Road on May 26 and another incident on April 23, with ransoms of ₦12.47m and ₦5.5m allegedly paid. An elderly woman also told the court that her family paid ₦30m following her abduction off Siluko Road in March 2025.
Our reporter observed that the week’s developments reveal a crime landscape that is interconnected. Kidnapping gangs require weapons, safe forests, informants, often insiders, and ransom channels. Infrastructure vandals depend on insiders and criminal receivers. Cult groups thrive where proper parenting fails, and communities are silent or vulnerable.
Therefore, dismantling crime requires more than tactical raids. It requires sustained intelligence gathering, community cooperation, prosecution and the disruption of the financial networks behind criminal activities.
A Nigerian proverb says, “A tree does not make a forest”. Agreeably, the successes recorded this week were the result of collaboration among the police, Nigerian Army, NSCDC, Edo State Security Corps, local hunters and members of the public.
The challenge now is sustainability. Security agencies must ensure that the momentum is not lost after each successful operation. Criminal gangs are likely to adapt, relocate and recruit new members whenever pressure eases.
For Edo State, the week’s operations provide cautious optimism. Victims were rescued, weapons recovered, suspects arrested, criminal networks exposed and a former cultist chose to surrender his weapon rather than remain in the shadows.
The message from the security offensive is becoming clearer, Edo’s forests are being contested, criminal hideouts are under surveillance, and those who profit from crime are increasingly being brought into the investigation.
The real measure of success, however, will be whether these operations translate into sustained reductions in kidnapping, cult violence and infrastructure vandalism, and whether those arrested are successfully prosecuted to the full extent of the law. However, let’s play our parts in securing our neighbourhood.