Edo State residents enjoyed a blissful Yuletide as they went about the merriments without the fear of men of the underworld, especially, kidnappers, whose activities in the months before the festivities had become commonplace. As the people gathered in applause for the seeming solution the Governor Godwin Obaseki-administration had found to the menace of kidnappers, the peace of the state was shattered as herdsmen stormed a train station at Igueben and abducted scores of passengers, herding them into the bush. In this piece, ‘SUYI AYODELE brings detailed accounts of the incident.
For the first time in recent history, citizens and residents of Edo State celebrated the Yuletide without any major incident of kidnapping. At least, no single incident was reported. It was a joyous Christmas and New Year celebrations for the people. The chorus in everyone’s mouth is that Governor Godwin Obaseki has done well. While it is true that one’s rival wife hardly gives birth to two healthy twins, even the governor’s political enemies agreed, for the first time, that Obaseki did very well in securing the lives of the people of the state. Just as the people were about to shout eureka, the peace of the state was shattered. And it was shattered with a loud bang.
The news came from an unusual quarter. The announcement came vide a press statement endorsed by the Command’s spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor, a Superintendent of Police. An unspecified number of people had been kidnapped, the Edo Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, declared. Nwabuzor speaks: “This is to inform the gentlemen of the press that today, 7th of January 2023 at about 1600hrs, unspecified number of herdsmen armed with AK 47 rifles attacked the train station at Igueben, Edo State and kidnapped unspecified number of passengers who were waiting to board the train to Warri. The kidnappers who shot sporadically into the air before kidnapping some passengers left some persons with bullet wounds”. The policeman added that the Area Commander Irrua, DPO Igueben Division, and men of the Division immediately visited the “scene of crime with members of Edo State Security Network, local vigilante, and hunters with a view to protect the lives and property of the remaining passengers”. He added that “Bush combing operations have commenced in order to rescue the victims and arrest the fleeing kidnappers” and assured that further development would be made available.
Local sources in the area gave a figure to the number of the train intending passengers that the AK 47-wielding herdsmen herded into the bush as over 30 persons. Best Oseh, Igueben Local Government Area Liaison Officer, the nomenclature given to the newly appointed LGAs administrators in the state by Governor Obaseki, while reacting to the development, said that efforts were being made by the security agencies to rescue the victims. “As I speak, people are in the field all over the place, vigilantes, security agencies and other people, everybody is concerned but we have to be careful with what we divulge so that we won’t jeopardize the processes we are doing. As for the category of people kidnapped, some of them are from Igueben while others are passengers from other places and as for the number for now, we are looking at over 30 but we can only give a comprehensive number when preliminary investigations are concluded”. An indigene of the locality, Comrade Benson Odia, while speaking on Sunday, January 8, disclosed that the kidnappers dropped off two children among the victims, while a woman escaped.
It was Odia, who listed the category of those kidnapped. “The train normally arrives by 5 pm, so at about 20 minutes to 5 pm, bandits just came through the bush part and invaded the place, they took away the station manager (Godwin Okpe), took away the booking clerk (Akhere) and about 29 other passengers made up of males and females. As I speak with you, the Deputy Governor left the place about an hour ago, the Commissioner of Police and his men are here, the 4 Brigade Nigerian Army Commander is here, the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) is here and many paramilitary representatives; the DPO Igueben and his men, the Esan Akatakpa Security network, the hunters’ association have been in the forest since last night doing bush combing. We are hoping that by the end of today, they will be rescued,” Odia volunteered.
Later, Sunday afternoon, the state government made its first official statement on the incident by way of a press conference addressed by Chis Osa Nehikhare, Commissioner for Communication and Orientation. At the press conference, Nehikhare announced that one of the suspected kidnappers had been arrested. “Yesterday is no doubt one of the most trying days so far in the new year for us as a government. A few armed men kidnapped 32 people at the Igueben train station. The deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, has visited the train station for on-the-spot assessment of the situation’.
“Information at our disposal is to the effect that of the 32 people kidnapped, one escaped and we have 31 others with the kidnappers. The good news for us as a government is that one of the kidnappers has been arrested and he is helping the police to unravel the whole thing. The state government under the leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki wants to commend the swiftness with which the police swung into action. We also want to commend the Edo State Vigilante Group and the local hunters in the area for their efforts so far at rescuing the remaining victims. As a government, we hope too that this will be the last time we will have daring people invading our train stations, and particularly,any part of Edo State, as we will make such daring elements uncomfortable and secure our state. We want to assure the security agencies and the local hunters and vigilante that the Edo State Government will continue to support them as efforts are being made to rescue the remaining 31 victims”, Nehikhare assured.
Also, the traditional ruler of Igueben, HRH Ehizojie Eluojierior I, Onogie of Igueben and Okaigun of Esanland described the incident as appalling, adding that the entire community was thrown into “unwanted silence” as the people were yet to come to terms with the kidnap. The traditional ruler argued that many of such incidents had taken place without being reported in the media. “The mood in the town is quiet as well as activated because the police, vigilantes, and the hunters are working together on the issue. They combed the bush till midnight on Saturday and resumed on Sunday morning. I hear there has been a similar attempt in Delta State by bandits from other parts of the country, which was repelled. The attack took everyone by surprise, and it happened at about 4pm when the train was being expected”, the Onogie said.
As if to confirm the frequency of such incidents, on Monday, January 9, barely 72 hours after the train station kidnap the President of Igueben Area Customary Court, Mrs Precious Aigbonoga, was kidnapped around Ugoneki axis, on her way to the court in Igueben. Before Aigbonoga’s kidnap, another victim, a former member of the Edo State House of Assembly, Festus Edughele, was kidnapped the same Monday morning at Ugoneki town, Uhunmwonde Local Government Area, while on his way to Benin City to board a flight to Abuja. Festus Osagie, Usiobaifo, Publicity Secretary of Benin branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who announced the kidnap of the Customary Court judge, said that the kidnapped customary court judge is the wife of Mr. Afebu Aigbonoga, PDP Candidate, Etsako West Constituency 1.
Later in the day, Nehikhare called another press conference, where he announced that six out of the 32 kidnapped victims had been rescued, and assured that the rescue team had doubled its efforts at rescuing the remaining persons in captivity. Twenty four hours later, the commissioner called yet another press conference to say that the actual number of victims kidnapper was 20 and not the 32 that was earlier reported. Nehikhare added that of the lot, only 13 remained in captivity as seven others had earlier been rescued by the joint operations of the military, the Police, vigilantes, and local hunters.
The commissioner said that the deputy governor, Philip Shaibu had gone to the scene for the second time in company of other top government officials, including the Senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, Senator. Clifford Ordia and the Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Marcus Onobun, where he called for calm among residents of Igueben LGA, and urged members of the public to provide useful information that would aid the rescue efforts by security agencies
Shaibu, he added, met with the traditional rulers and village heads of the locality, where he enjoined them to be conscious of their responsibility of identifying strangers in their domains and reporting unusual activities to the government, and equally warned the traditional rulers and village heads of the consequences of habouring criminals in their domains as doing so would attract full punishment, which he added, included the forfeiture of houses used for hostage abode, demolition and prosecution of landlords for murder if such a kidnap act involved the death of the victim.
Nehikhare dismissed the insinuation that the state government rested on its oars because of the peace the state enjoyed during the Yuletide, hence the government was taken by surprise by the herdsmen. The commissioner explained that the train station, where the victims were kidnapped “belongs to the Federal Government and the Federal Government assured that it has put enough security arrangements in place, and we believed them. But I must say that this is not the time for blame games. Our focus is to have all our people released. And I must commend the Military, the Police and our local vigilantes and hunters for their efforts so far.”
Seventy two hours later, information filtered in that the herdsmen who kidnapped the train passengers had contacted the families of the abductees, demanding a ransom of N20 million each. Disclosing the demand for ransom, Comrade Benson Odia, Executive Director Esan Youth for Good Governance and Social Justice, on Monday said the Kidnappers had made contact with some families of the kidnap victims, demanding N20 million for each victim.Odia, who described the demand as absurd, called on the authorities to intensify efforts in rescuing the 31 abducted persons that are still being held by their abductees.
The deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, on his second visit to the scene Tuesday, having visited the station on Sunday morning, held a strategic meeting with security agencies on the incident. Briefing Journalists shortly after the strategic security meeting at the train station, Shaibu said he was at the train station again on the directive of Governor Godwin Obaseki to give moral support to the rescue operations and to “see if there are areas we need to improve on in our strategies”.
Also speaking, the Senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District, Senator Clifford Ordia, appreciated Governor Obaseki and his deputy for their efforts at rescuing the kidnapped victims, adding that “much progress has been made and we thank them for their efforts so far”. His Edo State House of Assembly speaker, Marcus Onobu, said “it is an unfortunate incident that we don’t wish to happen to anyone, even our enemy. But most importantly, is the swift response of the state government and security operatives. We are confident that we are closing in on the abductors and in no time, the victims will all be rescued. The people are enemies of Nigerians, and we must join hands to fight them”, Onobu assured.
Seven days after the kidnap, tension has increased among the people of the state as 13 citizens are still in the captivity of their abductors. The anxiety is heightened by the feeling that criminal elements appeared to have regained their confidence as seemingly indicated by the two simultaneous kidnappings of the Customary Court judge and the former member of the Edo State House of Assembly. The question Edolites are asking is: Is it not yet Uhuru?
