• Kidnappers flee with gunshot wounds as police launch manhunt
The Delta State Police Command has rescued a kidnapped 60-year-old man, arrested 10 suspects and recovered a locally made firearm and suspected illicit drugs in separate operations across the state.
The operations were carried out in Agbor, Abbi and Oghara, according to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Bright Edafe.
Edafe said operatives of the Agbor Division, acting on intelligence following a report of the kidnapping of the victim, stormed Alisime village at about 6pm on September 4, 2026, alongside forest guards and local security personnel.
He said the operatives engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle and succeeded in rescuing the victim unharmed.
According to him, the kidnappers escaped into the bush with suspected gunshot injuries.
“One mobile phone and an ATM card were recovered, while the area has been cordoned off and a manhunt for the fleeing suspects is ongoing,” Edafe said.
In a separate operation later that day, operatives of the Command Anti-Cult Unit (CACU), Ozoro, raided a brothel in Abbi following credible intelligence on a suspect wanted in connection with an alleged arson case at Owhelogbo community in August.
The raid, which took place at about 9:30pm, resulted in the arrest of 10 suspects comprising seven females and three males.
The police spokesman said Tramadol, Swinol, Canadian Loud and weeds suspected to be Indian hemp were recovered during the operation.
He said the suspects were being profiled, adding that those found culpable would be prosecuted.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Oghara Division, working with members of a civilian anti-cult group, responded to a report of a scuffle involving about eight persons along Ibori Road, Oghara, at about 7:30pm on September 4.
Edafe said the suspects fled upon sighting the patrol team, with one of them, identified by the alias “Highest,” allegedly abandoning a locally made cut-to-size firearm.
The firearm was recovered, while efforts were ongoing to identify and arrest the fleeing suspects.
The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Samuel E. Erale, commended the police operatives and other security personnel involved in the operations.
Erale directed the operatives to intensify efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
The CP assured residents that the command would continue to strengthen intelligence-led operations, raid identified criminal hideouts and sustain patrols across the state.
He urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly provide the police with credible information that could assist in preventing and detecting criminal activities.
