Gunmen snatch doctor, brother in Edo new year attack

By Jethro Ibileke

Suspected kidnappers have abducted a medical doctor and his brother in Auchi, Edo State, in an attack carried out on New Year’s Day.

The victims were identified as Abu Ibrahim Babatunde, a medical doctor based in Auchi, and his brother, Abu Tahir.

The abduction reportedly occurred on the evening of Thursday, January 1, 2026, along City Pride Road, Igbira Camp, in Auchi, the headquarters of Etsako West Local Government Area.

Babatunde, who is said to be undergoing his housemanship at the Edo State Teaching Hospital, Auchi, was returning home from work with his brother when the incident happened.

Eyewitness accounts said the brothers arrived at their residence at about 7:30 pm. As Tahir stepped out of the vehicle to open the gate, armed men believed to have been lying in wait suddenly emerged.

The attackers reportedly seized the brothers at gunpoint and forced them into a nearby bush.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, Eno Ikoedem, said the police received a distress call around 8:30 pm.

She said officers were immediately dispatched to the area, while a joint operation involving the police, local vigilantes, forest guards and Community Safety Partnership Volunteers was launched.

According to her, search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing in the surrounding forest, with security operatives intensifying efforts to locate the victims and arrest those responsible.

Ikoedem assured residents that the Command was committed to ensuring the safe rescue of the abducted brothers.