The police haven’t said anything yet about the chiefs who were taken into custody because of the attack.
Two village leaders, according to Edo State authorities, have been detained in relation to the train attack on January 7 that ended in the abduction of 20 people at the Igueben train station.
Chris Nehikhare, the state’s commissioner for communication and orientation, announced that seven other individuals had also been detained in connection with the event and that security personnel had also freed the two captive passengers.
Shortly after the Wednesday state executive council meeting in Benin, the government spokesman made this information public.
According to Nehikhare, the arrest of five people, including two village heads, and their assistance in the inquiry, is considered the kidnapping’s success story.
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When asked who the leaders of the village were, he said the police should be called to find out more.
However, because his phone was off, details could be obtained through state police spokesman Chidi Nwabuzor.
In the meantime, on Wednesday, the House of Representatives decided to hold a moment of silence in honor of DSP Michael Adams, a police officer who died trying to save Mrs. Precious Aigbonog, President of the Customary Court, from her kidnappers in Edo State.
The House also urged the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to send more mobile police officers to the Edo Central Senatorial District in Edo State, as well as the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Farouk Yahaya, to establish a Nigeria Army barracks, also known as a forward operating base, and the Inspector-General of Police to establish a Police Mobile Force Base in the district.
Reps call for security.
The House also told the Army and Police Affairs Committees to make sure the resolutions are followed and to give a report within four weeks so that more laws can be made.
Sergius Ogun, a House member from Edo, put forward the motion, which was unanimously passed. It was called “Need to Strengthen Security Formations in Edo Central Senatorial District of Edo State.”
Ogun made the motion, noting that Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution states that the security and welfare of Nigerians shall be the primary goal of the government and that Section 4 of the Constitution empowers the National Assembly to pass laws for the Federation’s peace, order, and good governance (2).
The House is worried about the recent wave of kidnappings, armed robberies, and general lack of safety in the country, especially in Edo State’s Edo Central Senatorial District, where lives and property have been lost and where people are clearly scared and uneasy.
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“The House has been told that on January 9, 2023, Mrs. Precious Aigbonog, the president of the Customary Court, was kidnapped while on her way to court in the Edo State region of Ugoneki Igueben.
The House is also informed that Mr. Festus Edughele, a former member of the Edo State House of Assembly, was abducted on January 9, 2023, in Ugoneki town while en route from Benin City to Abuja.
The House is upset that these terrible things happened just two days after 20 train passengers were taken while waiting for a train to Warri, Delta State, at the Igueben Train Station.
Even though the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Police Force’s efforts led to the release of Aigbonog, Edughele, and 18 of the 20 kidnapped train passengers, the lawmaker said that the House is “saddened by the death of DSP Michael Adams during the rescue operation” because of the gunfight with the kidnappers.
