Juliana Francis
A random ‘stop and search’ duty by Police operatives attached to the Delta State Police Command has led to the rescue of a suspected victim, who was blindfolded and stashed in a car.
The State Police spokesman, Bright Edafe, said that nobody would have known that the victim had been abducted if not that the kidnappers fled and abandoned their car just as policemen on stop and search duty flagged them.
According to the victim, he was kidnapped at gunpoint along the road. He also told the police that he had already paid N700,000 ransom the kidnappers’ bank account through transfer.
Edafe said: “On 29th July 2023, at about 11:PM, Police patrol team attached to Ebrumede Police Station while on stop and search duty flagged down a Lexuz Saloon Car, registration number withheld, but the occupant on noticing the police, jumped down from the vehicle with a double barrel gun and took to their heels.
“Some of the police operatives gave them a hot chase during which one of them bearing the firearm was nuetralised while others escaped.
“On a closer look at the abandoned vehicle, a kidnapped victim was seen blindfolded, he was immediately rescued by the operatives and taken to the police station where he stated that he was kidnapped along Jakpa Road, Warri on same date at about 9:PM, when the suspected kidnappers using a tricycle hit his vehicle from behind, and in an attempt to confront them, they brought out the double barrel gun and forced him into his own vehicle.
“Before he was rescued, he had already paid a sum of N700,000 ransom into their account through bank transfer. The victim has been reunited with his family while a manhunt for the other fleeing suspects is ongoing.”
The image manager said that the achievement was because of the proactive measures adopted by the Commissioner of Police Delta State, CP Wale Abass.
The CP, said Edafe, had always reiterated his desire to achieve a crime-free state and admonished Divisional Police Officers and Tactical Commanders to key into proactive policing instead of reactive policing.
“The CP had always said that regular stop and search duty, visibility patrol, continuous raids of black spots, cultivation of informants among others were parts of the working strategies of the Command,” said Edafe.
Abass while applauding the gallantry of the policemen, urged other officers of the command to follow suit and exhibit courage in line with their respective duties.
He also urged members of the public to continue to trust, and partner with the police especially in the area of information noting that the Police cannot do it alone without the support of the community.
