Benin City: The Edo State Police Command says it recorded major breakthroughs against violent crime in 2025, arresting 821 suspects and rescuing 377 kidnap victims across the state.
Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, disclosed the figures while outlining security measures for the festive season, noting that the command also recovered arms, ammunition, and stolen vehicles during the year.
Agbonika said that the police recorded significant breakthroughs against violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, murder, rape, cultism, and illegal possession of firearms.
He said that the command recorded substantial recoveries of arms, ammunition, and stolen vehicles during the period.
Part of the operations, the police boss said, was a forest-clearance operation in Edo North, which he personally led to deny criminal elements access to ungoverned spaces.
Agbonika stated that the operation, which ran from Dec. 14 to Dec. 20, was carried out with the approval of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who authorised the deployment of police helicopters and drones, alongside other logistics support from Gov. Monday Okpebholo.
“The operation featured coordinated deployment of ground troops and aerial assets to ensure comprehensive coverage, and it will be sustained,” Agbonika said.
He explained that the clearance exercise was carried out through inter-agency collaboration involving the Nigerian Army’s 4 Brigade, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, forest guards, vigilantes, and local hunters.
The police commissioner urged residents of the state to remain vigilant and law-abiding during the festive season, stressing that public cooperation remained critical to sustaining security gains.
He also warned over reports of corpses disappearing from some private mortuaries in the state, describing such acts as “criminal, inhuman, and a gross violation of the sensitivity of the bereaved.
“Anyone found culpable will face the full weight of the law without exception,” he said, advising families to patronise government-owned mortuaries where oversight and accountability were guaranteed.
The police commissioner reaffirmed the command’s commitment to maintaining peace across the state and encouraged residents to utilise the police emergency lines, which, he said, remained active round the clock.
“As we celebrate Christmas and prepare for the New Year, I wish the good people of Edo State a peaceful, safe, and prosperous festive period,” Agbonika added.
He, however, said that the festive security plan would be anchored in proactive, intelligence-driven policing.
This, he said, would include intensified patrols, stop-and-search operations, strategic deployments, and sustained community engagement to deter crime and reassure residents.
“In line with our proactive and intelligence-driven policing strategy for the yuletide, we have significantly strengthened security across Edo State to guarantee the safety of residents and visitors throughout the festive period,” he said.