Edo Community Imposes Curfew Over Kidnapping Menace

Fear of kidnapping, which is becoming an everyday affair, has forced the Igarra Community, headquarters of Akoko-Edo local government area, to impose a curfew from 9pm to 6am and has also restricted all night burial dances to held between 4pm and 6pm only.

This is coming barely 24 hours after the wife of the chairman of the youth group in the community, Ubani Okuo, was kidnapped on Tuesday night while just arriving at their house from their shop in the town.

The kidnapping of the wife of Okuo came about 24 hours after seven indigenes of Imoga Community in the same local government area were released by kidnappers on Monday evening following the payment of an undisclosed ransom.

A town crier was deployed by the traditional ruler who said a girl was a few days earlier kidnapped in another location in Igarra before the wife of Okuo and they were still with their captors.

Speaking on the development, HRH Oba Adeche Saiki, the paramount ruler of Igarra/Akuku Clan said: “It is true, we suspect that these bad people now stay with us and may even be drinking with our people before they carry out their acts in the night. It is a joint agreement between the local government area chairman, the police and the traditional institution. It is expected to be carried out in the whole of the local government area.”

Confirming the incident, the Edo State Police Command’s Police Relations Officer (PPRO), Eno Ikoedem, said: “We received a case of suspected kidnapping. The Commissioner of Police has ordered Divisional Police Officers in the area to join hands in the rescue effort.”