Edo State Police have confirmed an assault on a police station in Agenebode, located in the Etsako East Local Government Area, by outraged residents. The attack reportedly occurred on Sunday, when a group stormed the station, setting it ablaze and targeting suspects accused of kidnapping and murder.
Moses Yamu, the Public Relations Officer for the police command, provided details to SaharaReporters on Monday. He stated that while the police are currently investigating, they have yet to confirm the number of suspects who died in the fire, the extent of damage to the police station, or claims that community members attacked the station due to alleged police complicity in a kidnapping and organ harvesting operation.
Yamu stated, “I can confirm that the Police Division at Agenebode was attacked yesterday and subsequently set on fire. However, the situation is under control now. Some suspects were burned, but we are still assessing the facts and will provide more information as we gather it.”
Reports from The PUNCH indicate that several individuals may have been killed in the incident, and vehicles at the police station were also destroyed. A community source explained that the unrest stemmed from claims that suspected herdsmen were kidnapping and murdering local residents for organ harvesting, allegedly with police protection.
The source detailed that the situation escalated following the abduction of a young boy several weeks prior. After a ransom was paid, he was not released, and it was later revealed that he had been killed. Angered youths tracked down the phone used in the kidnapping, leading to the arrest of a suspect connected to the head of the Fulani community.
Dissatisfied with the police response, the youths took matters into their own hands, retrieving the suspect and confronting the Fulani leader. The suspect allegedly confessed to the youths about the killings and organ harvesting. In a search of the Fulani leader’s property, the youths discovered the decomposing body of the kidnapped boy, prompting them to burn the leader’s house and attack the police station.
Another resident voiced their frustration, stating, “Enough is enough. This must stop. The police take our children and still extort money from us. These kidnappers demand ransoms of N2.5 million or even N3 million and still kill their victims.”
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