Enugu Police Rescue Four Kidnap Victims, Recover Ammunition in Joint Operations

The Enugu State Police Command has rescued four kidnapped victims in two separate intelligence-led operations conducted within Enugu State and across the Benue State border, recovering live ammunition and other incriminating exhibits while intensifying efforts to arrest the fleeing suspects.

The operations, carried out by combined security teams, also led to the recovery of the decomposing body of a male kidnap victim who was allegedly shot by his abductors while in captivity.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, the first operation involved operatives of the Udenu Police Division, the Anti-Kidnapping Section of the Command's Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), the Distress Response Squad (DRS), and personnel from the Orukam Police Division of the Benue State Police Command, the Nigerian Army, Benue State Civil Protection Guards, Enugu State Forest Guards, Neighbourhood Watch members, and the Ezimo Vigilante Group.

The operation, which leveraged the Inspector-General of Police's Handshake Patrol initiative, led to the rescue of two brothers who were abducted on August 3, 2026, at Ezimo-Ulo in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Police said the victims were rescued unharmed at about 1:40 p.m. on August 4 at Ikele in Owukpa Community, Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State, following a fierce gun battle that forced the kidnappers to flee with suspected gunshot wounds.

Items recovered from the kidnappers' hideout included 15 rounds of live ammunition, the victims' Android phones and car keys, other mobile phones and accessories, a bottle containing suspected hard drugs and drug paraphernalia, clothing items, and ₦11,800 in cash.

The rescued brothers were subsequently debriefed and reunited with their family.

In a separate operation, operatives of the Umabor Police Division, the Anti-Kidnapping Section of the VCRU, Enugu State Forest Guards, and Neighbourhood Watch members rescued two other victims who had been abducted on July 31, 2026, at Amukpa Village in Ogbozara Community, Nsukka Local Government Area.

However, police disclosed that another victim had died from gunshot injuries inflicted by the kidnappers while in captivity. His decomposing body was later recovered from the forest during the rescue operation.

The two surviving victims were also debriefed and reunited with their families.

Commending the operatives and supporting security agencies, the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, praised their courage, professionalism and effective collaboration.

He directed the security teams to sustain the ongoing manhunt for the fleeing suspects and reaffirmed the Command's commitment to combating violent crime across the state.

The Commissioner also urged residents to remain vigilant and continue providing the police with credible and actionable information to aid ongoing security operations.