Police intensify rescue operation following Okene-Auchi road kidnapping

The Kogi State Police Command has significantly ramped up its search and rescue efforts following a reported kidnapping incident on the Okene-Auchi Road. The operation is a coordinated deployment involving various police units and military personnel, targeting forest areas believed to be used as hideouts by the perpetrators.

Immediately after the incident, the Command initiated intelligence-driven bush-combing operations. These efforts span identified forest corridors within the Okene–Ajokuta axis, with a particular focus on the Ebiya Forest and surrounding areas. The operation includes personnel from the Area Command, Okene; the 77 Police Mobile Force Squadron; Okene and Adavi Divisions; the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Kogi State Command; the Violent Crime Response Unit; and detachments of the Nigerian Army operating from nearby Forward Operating Bases.

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Immediately following the incident, the Command activated its rescue response and commenced intelligence-driven bush-combing operations across identified forest corridors within the Okene–Ajokuta axis, particularly around the Ebiya Forest and adjoining areas.

Support for the operation extends beyond Kogi State, with the Edo State Police Command contributing its Anti-Kidnapping Unit and other tactical personnel. To prevent any escape routes, joint operations have been strengthened across the Kogi–Edo border, with security personnel conducting clearance operations and patrols in identified forest locations linked to the incident.

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The identified hideouts were subsequently destroyed and set ablaze to prevent their further use by the perpetrators.

During the search, security teams identified and combed suspected criminal hideouts within the forest. Recovered items included foodstuffs, cooking ingredients, an Army-pattern jungle hat, and a National Identity Card, among other articles believed to have been abandoned by the criminals. These identified hideouts were subsequently destroyed and set ablaze to prevent their reuse.

While no kidnapped victims were recovered during the initial phase, security forces are maintaining their advance into the forest and adjoining areas. The operation, which continued on Saturday, August 8, 2026, involves tactical teams moving towards identified locations of interest along the Ajaokuta and Adoko axes. Technical support, including the deployment of drones by the Nigerian Army and Edo State Police Command, is being utilized to enhance surveillance and intelligence gathering. The Commissioner of Police for Kogi State Command has directed operational teams to sustain the search.

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Although no kidnapped victim was recovered from the locations searched during the initial phase of the operation, security forces had maintained their advance into the forest and adjoining axes in a determined effort to locate and rescue the victims and apprehend those responsible.