Edo Kidnappings: Families in agony as victims spend months in captivity

By Jethro Ibileke

The continued captivity of two teenage seminarians and a Chinese expatriate months after their abduction has continued to generate concern in Edo State.

It will be recalled that three junior seminarians were abducted from the Catholic Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary School in Ivianokpodi, Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area, on 9 July 2025.

One of them, however, secured his freedom about a month later after his parents allegedly raised an undisclosed sum for his release.

The other two are still being held by their abductors, reportedly due to the Catholic Church’s refusal to pay for their release.

The Chinese expatriate was abducted on 5 September at BUA Cement Company after the kidnappers killed eight NSCDC operatives assigned to him and injured four others.

As of today, the seminarians have spent three months and eight days in captivity, while the expatriate has been held for one month and six days.

Commenting on the two cases, the State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, said efforts were ongoing to rescue the victims and to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

“From the time of the kidnapping of the three seminarians, we deployed officers into the bush and successfully rescued one of them, but two are yet to be rescued,” he said.

He added that on several occasions they were close to encountering the kidnappers but were held back as the criminals used their victims as human shields.

Agbonika further noted that the police were also working on the case of the expatriate, revealing that they had obtained valuable information and were using technology to trace his whereabouts.

“We have made a lot of progress in that case. We are making progress, and very soon, they will be released.

“I think we have a fair idea of where the expatriate is being held. Even though I can’t divulge all the information, we are making progress,” he said.