Delta State Police Commissioner, Ari Muhammed Ali, has commended the concerted efforts made by his men, local vigilantes and Iyede Community youths in Isoko land towards the release of passengers, including a journalist, Mr. Julius Osahon, who were abducted at Evwreni axis of East-West road on their way to Warri from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Attributing the success recorded to intelligence gathering and synergy between local vigilantes and his men, who were ably led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) ‘A’ Division, Ughelli, SP Asanaenyi Ibok, who were immediately dispatched into the forest on receiving the report of the abduction.
Speaking on the release, Ari noted that his team who were on top of the situation since the evening of Monday, March 28, 2022, when the incident was reported, were able to extend their surveillance network to adjoining communities from Evwreni in Ughelli North Local Government Area where the incident occurred.
According to him; “In order to make the surveillance extension easier, while the DPO Ughelli and his team concentrated more on the forest within Evwreni axis, I had to personally direct all the Divisional Police Officers and unit heads in places like Patani, Isoko areas, mostly Iyede, Oleh, Olomoro and as far as Ukwani, to also team up with their vigilantes to comb their forest for a possible lead in our findings”.
“This search finally paid-off on the fifth day of the abduction when we got a call from a retired police officer (name withheld) at Iyede Community in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, at about 8pm on Friday, April 1, 2020, of some strange movements in their forest and when they probed further, they were made to understand that they were kidnapped victims just got released by their captors”.
“Immediately this call was passed on to the DPO Ughelli, SP Ibok, he immediately mobilised his men to the location and took all the victims including the Guardian reporter to Ughelli where they were kept to stabilise before being released to go home the next day”.
While acknowledging the painstaking efforts of his men, especially the Ughelli DPO, SP Ibok and his team in ensuring the release of the victims, the Police boss, thanked all those who participated in the search to locate the victims who were in captivity in the forest for 5 days.
He urged the locals to be more vigilante and sensitive to strangers and developments within their communities, noting that 80 per cent of kidnappers they have arrested at different locations, mostly the Fulani herdsmen, had confessed that they work in conjunction with some community indigenes, who they pay commission to, from ransom they collect from their victims”.
He disclosed that the implications of this connivance between the kidnappers and the community indigenes tends to put the lives of his men in danger as the indigenes who now act as informants to these criminals would alert them of the move if his men go into the forest where they could easily be ambushed during a raid operation.
“To this effect, I would want to appeal to the local government chairmen, our traditional rulers, local vigilantes, anti-kidnapping and anti-cults as well as indigenes of the various communities themselves to live up to their bidding by working with the police in divulging useful information that could lead to the arrest of these criminals in our communities”.
However it is still not clear if any ransom was paid to secure the release of the victims as at the time of filing this report