Gunmen kidnap PDP chairman in Edo; Govt, Police, APC react

By Usman Aliyu

Benin, March 16, 2024

Edo Government says it is on top of the kidnapping of the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Tony Aziegbemi.

The state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, disclosed this in a statement issued in Benin on Saturday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Aziegbemi was kidnapped close to his GRA residence on Friday night while returning from a meeting with Gov. Godwin Obaseki at the Government House.

The commissioner said the state government had stepped up surveillance and was collaborating with security agencies for the safe release of the kidnap victim.

“We have also increased surveillance and beefed-up security measures across the state to ensure that these criminal activities are quelled and culprits are brought to justice.

“We encourage residents to go about their lawful businesses without fear and urge them to call the state emergency numbers 112 or 739 to report all suspicious persons or activities within their environs,” he said.

Nehikhare reassured the public of the government’s commitment to protect the lives and property of Edo residents.

He said the government would spare no resource in ensuring that the perpetrators of the dastardly act were apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law.

Similarly, the Police Command in Edo said its operatives were collaborating with the local security network to rescue the victim unhurt.

The command in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Funsho Adegboye, received the report of the incident with shock.

Nwabuzor, however, noted that the CP immediately gave a marching order to the tactical team leaders to conduct a rescue party in collaboration with local vigilance groups and hunters.

The command’s spokesman said the CP solicited the cooperation of Edo citizens, urging them to give information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators and the rescue of the victim.

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo has condemned the abduction in a statement issued by its state acting chairman, Jarret Tenabe.

In the statement, APC attributed the development to the lack of strong security architecture in the state.

“The kidnap is a wake-up call on the Governor Obaseki-led administration that all is not well in terms of securing the state, which is the primary responsibility of government.

“The APC, Edo State Chapter, uses this medium to demand the immediate and unconditional release of the PDP chairman,” it read.

The party also called on state security agencies to leave no stone unturned in the quest to ensure his release unhurt.

NAN reports that the abduction Mr. Aziegbemi happened less than a month after the party’s primary election was held ahead of the Sept. 21 governorship election in the state.

A source told NAN that the abductors, operating in two Toyota Corolla cars, double-crossed the PDP chairman’s jeep at a speed bump in the area to effect the abduction.

Narrating the ordeal, the driver to Aziegbemi said: “when we left Government House and heading home at about 11p.m, I noticed the cars trailing us, so I decided to take a diversion. We never knew they were kidnappers.

“Few minutes later, the same cars appeared behind us at a speed breaker and blocked our car in the front.

“Gunmen came out of the cars, pointed guns at us and ordered the chairman to enter their car and they took him away,’’ he said.

He added that other gang members took over the chairman’s jeep and abandoned it on Sapele Road.

Police spokesman in Edo, SP Chidi Nwabuzor confirmed the abduction.

“It is confirmed; it happened in the jurisdiction of New Etete Police Division, also known as Godwin Abbe Police Station; that is where it happened.

“The Commissioner of Police, Mr Funsdo Adegboye, has ordered tactical teams to go after the hoodlums and we pray that by the grace of God we will rescue him unhurt,’’ he said.