Edo State Police Command has arrested Suleman Harruna, a 28- year-old citizen of Niger Republic and three others for alleged kidnapping. The Command also neutralised one suspect while four others escaped with gunshot wounds.
Eno Ikoedem, the Public Relations Officer of the Command disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday in Benin City. Ikoedem said the Nigerien who resides in Kabba, Kogi State, and has been on the Command’s wanted list was arrested on February 17, 2026, in Ubiaja, Esan West Local Government Area of the State.
She said during interrogation, members of the Hausa/Fulani community were invited for identification, and the suspect was identified as a member of a notorious kidnapping gang alongside one other. She said the suspect made useful confessions and has been aiding the police in ongoing investigations.
Ikoedem also disclosed that a 25-year-old Ibrahim Kodo of Illushi community in the same locality was tracked down and arrested in collaboration with personnel from the Nigerian Army on February 20, 2026, at about 5:50 pm.
She said the suspect was identified by a kidnapped victim as one among three-armed men who kidnapped him on June 2, 2025, at about 1000 hours from his farm. She also added that on February 26, 2026, at about 9am, another suspected kidnapper named Orsee Iorzaa of Omi Camp in Illushi, in the Esan South-East was arrested through steady surveillance based on intelligence.
“A kidnapped victim identified the suspect as one of the five-man gang who invaded his home with guns and kidnapped him on February 21, 2026. Investigation is on top gear to recover their arms and apprehend other members of the syndicate”, he said.
She further disclosed that on March 7, 2026, at about 8:25 am, Police operatives in Ubiaja in collaboration with members of the Edo State Security Corps carried out a bush-combing operation in the Onogholọ and Akwocha forests.
She explained that during the operation, four suspected kidnappers opened fire on the advancing security team but were subdued by the superior firepower of the operatives. Ikoedem added that one of the suspects was neutralised in the ensuing gun duel while three others escaped into the forest with gunshot wounds.
She listed items recovered from the scene as one single-barreled shotgun, one black facial mask, two live cartridges and two expended cartridges. She said bush-combing operations are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
The Command’s image maker, said the six-day operations between February 16, 2026, and February 22,2026 was led by Monday Agbonika, the Commissioner of Police in the state.
Ikoedem stated that the operations entailed carrying out on-the-spot security assessments, restrategizing operational approaches and repositioning personnel for more effective policing.
Other strategies include intensified surveillance and operational focus, through steady surveillance based on intelligence and bush-combing with members of the Edo State Security Corps in the Onogholọ and Akwocha forests.
