The Kogi State Police Command has rescued 12 out of the 16 passengers of a bus kidnapped on Ayagba-Ejule road by an armed group on Wednesday.
The state police command spokesman, William Aya, who stated this in a press release in Lokoja on Thursday said the victims were rescued by men and officers of the command’s Quick Response Team.
According to him, the driver of the bus, Bernard Ejeh, was among the 12 people rescued when the police team pursued the kidnappers into the bush.
He said that the command was intensifying efforts to rescue the remaining four passengers.
The statement read, “On Wednesday 6/4/2022, the Command received a report that one Toyota bus with Registration Number Benue 192 XA driven by one Benard Ejeh conveying 16 passengers from Abuja heading to Benue State via ANKPA ran into kidnappers at Ojuwo-Ajebgo village of Ofu Local Government Area along Anyigba road.
“Immediately, the operatives of Quick Response Unit stationed at Itobe promptly swung into action, pursued the hoodlums into the bush, and rescued 12 passengers, including the driver while 4 other passengers are yet to be seen.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Egbuka who was on a visiting tour at Kogi East Senatorial Zone got the information while he was on his way to Ejule, immediately moved to the scene, met with the rescued passengers, and ordered that they should be moved to Itobe Division for debriefing.
“The Commissioner of Police immediately deployed a tactical team to the area to continue trailing the hoodlums with a view to rescuing other victims,” the statement said.
The police spokesman frowned at reports by a section of the media that 15 persons were kidnapped while urging journalists to always verify their information before going to press.
“The Commissioner of Police urges members of the public, the media, particularly social media handlers to always verify facts of incidents from the Police before publishing stories to guard against misinforming the general public,” the statement added.
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