The Delta State Police Command has foiled a planned kidnap operation and recovered firearms and ammunition from the fleeing hoodlums, who also abandoned their soaked garri and groundnut.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, the command said operatives of the CP Special Assignment Team, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a suspected criminal hideout along a bush path in the Upper Agbarho area of the state.
According to the statement, intelligence reports indicated that about six suspected kidnappers were sighted in the area, prompting a coordinated operation at about 9:35 p.m. on January 11, 2026.
The operation was led by Julius Robinson in collaboration with community vigilantes.
“Upon sighting the police operatives, the suspects opened fire,” the command said, adding that officers responded “with superior firepower,” forcing the suspects to flee with varying degrees of injury.
The police disclosed that the fleeing suspects abandoned weapons and other incriminating items at the scene.
Photos of the items recovered include a bowl of soaked garri, with three spoons, nylons of groundnut, a nylon of garri, sachets of alcoholic drinks, matches, lighters, “one FNC rifle loaded with one round of live ammunition and one pump-action gun with thirty-two rounds of live cartridges.”
“All exhibits have been recovered and taken into custody,” the statement said, noting that a manhunt had been launched to arrest the suspects who escaped.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Aina Adesola, commended the operatives for what he described as their courage and effective use of intelligence.
The CP reiterated that the command “remains resolute in denying criminal elements the space to operate,” warning that Delta State “will continue to be hostile to all forms of criminality.”
