By Simeon OSAJIE
Following a widespread bush-combing operation by the Edo State Special Security Squad in Ekeke Erah Forest, Owan East Local Government Area, the squad has dismantled five suspected kidnapper camps in Edo North Senatorial District of the state.
In a press statement signed by Mr. Fred Itua, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Monday Okpebholo, he said the operation, which took place on Thursday and Friday, was coordinated by the Principal Security Officer to the governor, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, local vigilante groups, and other sister security agencies.
He noted that the security operatives, trekked nearly five kilometres deep into the forest, between Afuze and Ora, where the camps were uncovered and subsequently destroyed.
A member of the squad, Eribo Ewanta, after the six-hour exercise, said signs of recent activity confirmed that the camps were still in active use.
According to him, “We discovered five camps, with clear indications that their occupants had only just fled. We found fire still burning and a pot of food left on the fire. This confirms the presence of suspected kidnappers in this area.”
Ewanta noted that the operation resulted into exchange of gunfire at a riverbank, as suspected kidnappers, apparently alerted to the presence of the officials, attempted to evade capture. He added that evidence of cattle grazing in the forest further raised suspicion that the hideouts may have been linked to armed herdsmen.
“We engaged the suspects in a serious gun duel, but they escaped deeper into the forest. Nevertheless, we are on their trail. Their camps have been dismantled and destroyed. Edo State will no longer provide a haven for criminal elements,” he added.
After assuming office last year, the Governor Okpebholo launched the ESSC, codenamed “Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers,” to combat the menace of kidnappers and cultists.
Several arrests have been made, suspects have been charged in court, while buildings belonging to cultists or buildings harbouring them have been demolished.