Key points

• Security forces are combing the Ebiya Forest and adjoining areas for kidnap victims along the Okene-Auchi Road
• Drones, mobile police units and army detachments from forward operating bases are all involved in the search
• Suspected criminal hideouts have been found and burned down, but no victims have been recovered yet

The Kogi State Police Command and the Nigerian Army have launched a joint search operation across forest areas along the Okene-Auchi Road, deploying drones, mobile police units and army detachments to locate kidnapped victims and flush out the suspects responsible.

The command’s spokesperson, ASP Afusat Salisu, confirmed the operation in a statement on Sunday, saying tactical teams had been sent into forest corridors within the Okene-Ajaokuta axis, with particular focus on the Ebiya Forest and surrounding areas.

Multiple security units deployed across Kogi-Edo border

The search involves a wide range of security units, including personnel from the Area Command in Okene, the 77 Police Mobile Force Squadron, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, the Violent Crime Response Unit and Nigerian Army detachments operating from forward bases in the area.

The Edo State Police Command has also joined the operation, sending its own anti-kidnapping unit and tactical personnel to support the effort.

Security forces have strengthened joint operations along the Kogi-Edo border to cut off any escape routes the suspects might use. Coordinated clearance operations and intelligence-driven patrols are running across forest locations linked to the incident, Salisu said.

Hideouts found and destroyed, search continues without victims

As the search progressed, teams located and searched several suspected criminal hideouts inside the forest.

Items found at the sites included foodstuffs, cooking ingredients, an army-pattern jungle hat and a national identity card, all believed to have been left behind by the suspects. Security forces burned down the hideouts to stop them from being used again.

No kidnapped victim has been found yet. Salisu said tactical teams continued advancing on Saturday toward locations of interest along the Ajaokuta and Adoko axes, with drones providing aerial surveillance and intelligence support.

Kogi State Commissioner of Police Naziru Kankarofi directed all operational teams to keep searching until the victims were safely recovered and the perpetrators arrested.

He urged residents in the affected areas to stay calm, remain alert and share any useful information with security agencies.

“The safety and recovery of the victims remain the command’s immediate priority,” Salisu said.