Manny Ita
The Edo State Police Command has achieved a historic milestone in Nigerian law enforcement after successfully rescuing nine kidnap victims through its first-ever drone-led tactical operation. In a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, ASP Eno Ikoedem, on Saturday, it was revealed that the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, activated the newly formed “Eagle Combat Drone Unit” following the abduction of residents at Egbojo Ikabigbo community in Jattu, Etsako West Local Government Area. At approximately 4:25 a.m. on Friday, January 9, 2026, real-time aerial intelligence from the drone unit pinpointed the exact location of the kidnappers’ forest camp, allowing ground troops to execute a precision strike.
The victims—comprising one adult male, three adult females, and five children—were rescued unhurt after the kidnappers, startled by the sudden approach of ground forces guided from above, fled the scene and abandoned two locally fabricated AK-49 rifles. “The camp was successfully located through real-time aerial intelligence provided by the drone unit,” ASP Ikoedem noted, describing the operation as a major leap forward in modern policing. This technological success has sparked calls for the expansion of drone surveillance across other volatile regions, especially as police also reported the recovery of stolen vehicles and the dismantling of a child-trafficking syndicate in Uromi during the same weekend.
In contrast, the security situation in Niger State remains tense as the state police command launched a massive “clearance operation” in the Borgu Local Government Area. The move follows a devastating attack on Damala Village in the early hours of Saturday, January 10, 2026, where suspected bandits killed at least four residents and set several shops and houses ablaze. According to the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, the attackers focused on the village between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., rustling an unspecified number of cattle and driving them toward the Kainji Lake National Park Forest.
The assault on Damala comes barely one week after a separate massacre in the same local government area claimed the lives of over 40 people. Local leaders have warned that the Borgu district is “under siege,” with the Chairman of the Local Government, Mallam Abdullahi Mohammed Nasiru, appealing for more permanent security outposts. While the police confirmed that security agencies have since visited the scene and are currently scouring the nearby forests, displaced residents remain in hiding. “Security agencies visited the scene, clearance operations are ongoing, and monitoring continues,” SP Abiodun assured, though the Catholic Church in Kontagora has reported that the actual death toll may be higher than the official police figure.
