Rita Odafe
In Agenebode, Edo State, residents have set fire to a police station following the tragic kidnapping and murder of a local young man.
According to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to Punch, multiple fatalities were reported and police vehicles were torched amid claims that suspected Fulani herdsmen were involved in kidnappings for organ trafficking, allegedly with police protection.
“The issue arose from the kidnapping of a boy weeks ago. Even after a ransom was paid, he was not released, leading to the discovery that he had been killed,” the source reported.
“The community’s youth managed to locate the kidnappers through phone tracking, leading to the arrest of a suspect who was delivered to the police. The suspect was linked to the leader of the Fulani community in the area.”
“Frustrated with the police’s handling of the case, the youth stormed the police station, seized the suspect, and brought him to the residence of the Fulani leader. Under pressure, he reportedly confessed that many kidnapped individuals had met the same fate and were buried after their organs were harvested.”
“Angered, the youth uncovered the remains of the murdered boy in the Fulani leader’s yard, where fleeing family left behind evidence. During the excavation, they found other human bones as well.
“In retaliation, they set fire to the leader’s house, targeting the businesses of several Hausa and Fulani youth nearby, and ultimately burned down the police station too.”
One enraged youth stated, “We have had enough. The police are involved in our children’s deaths yet still demand money from us. Kidnappers take our children, extort money, and then kill them. We have paid ransoms ranging from N2.5 million to N3 million only to have the victims killed.”
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 5, Arungwa Udo, along with Commissioner of Police, Nemi Edwin-Iwo, have visited the area to help restore order and evaluate the situation directly.
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