The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Shehu Nadada, to coordinate the rescue of 20 passengers abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Expressway in Imo State.
The victims, including members of the National Youth Service Corps, were abducted on October 1 when two buses conveying them and other passengers were waylaid at Umunoha on the expressway.
The Imo State Police Command said it recovered the two buses and rescued 10 persons at the scene, while 20 others remained in the custody of the kidnappers.
The Force spokesperson, Anietie Iniedu, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, saying Nadada had arrived in the state to assess the rescue operation.
According to him, the DIG was accompanied by two Commissioners of Police and other security commanders.
Nadada conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the operation and reviewed the deployment of personnel and operational assets.
He also issued fresh directives aimed at strengthening the coordinated response and improving efforts to locate the abducted passengers.
“The search-and-rescue operation has been further intensified, with additional deployments of tactical teams and operational assets across identified areas, backed by intelligence-led tracking of the suspects,” Iniedu stated.
He added that the police were working with other security agencies to secure the victims’ release and arrest those responsible for the abduction.
“The police are working in close coordination with sister security agencies to ensure the safe rescue of the abducted persons and the apprehension of the perpetrators,” he said.
The Force assured the public that the operation would continue until the 20 abducted passengers were rescued.
The latest deployment followed growing security concerns over the attack on the two buses carrying NYSC members and other passengers during the Independence Day holiday.
The police said tactical teams and operational assets had been deployed to identified areas as part of the intensified search for the victims and their abductors.
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