Edo State Commissioner of Police, Philip Aliyu Ogbadu, has commended members of the public for their support which has culminated in the chains of achievements of the command so far.
He made the commendation while briefing the media on activities of the command between the period of 21st April and 16th June, 2021.
He said: “We have progressed so far. It is interesting to know that members of the public are cooperating with us. They’re giving us information and they are also monitoring what we are doing just as you(media) are also monitoring us.”
Giving a breakdown of number of arrested suspects, rescued victims, arms and ammunitions recovered he said: “We have arrested eight kidnap suspects, 76 suspected cultists, 31 armed robbery suspects, nine suspected murderers, four people for unlawful possession of firearms, three people for attempted murder, one person for human trafficking.
“Those rescued from human traffickers are six and they have been transferred to NAPTIP(National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons). Ten murder and 21 kidnap victims were rescued. Total number of suspects arrested is 320 with 150 of them charged to court.
“We have recovered some arms and ammunitions concealed in nylon bags and kept in secluded places waiting to be removed when they are going for operations. We stumble on them through information, some through surveillance and observation. Some of the suspects have not yet been arrested.
Going further, he asserted that “the number of those who bear illegal firearms has been reducing since January(2021) if you follow up the trend.”
“I think it is mostly because of the height of our surveillance and then we have the Edo State Security Network who are also assisting us.”
He concluded by calling on members of the public whose cars have been stolen recently to come to the command enquiry and inspection as eight vehicles were also recovered.
