Gunmen have abducted a police inspector and four other persons in two separate attacks in Akoko Edo Local Government Area of Edo State, heightening fears over a growing wave of kidnappings in the region.

The first incident occurred at the Makeke Community Health Centre in Edo North Senatorial District, where armed men reportedly stormed the facility and seized a female secondary school student, identified as Tope Oriloye, and a man, Samuel Ilesanmi, who had brought his sick child to the centre in the company of his wife.

Witnesses said the attackers operated with ease, whisking the victims into the surrounding bush before security volunteers could respond.

In a separate operation the same day, another gang invaded the Uma Imoga axis of Akoko Edo, targeting the residence of a serving police officer, Inspector Segun Obanowa. The assailants abducted the inspector, his wife and their daughter.

The gunmen later released Obanowa’s wife, allegedly ordering her to raise money for the release of her husband and child.

Community leader and National Coordinator of the Movement for the Advancement of Akoko Edo People, Bode Ekundayo, said the kidnappers holding Oriloye and Ilesanmi had contacted their families to demand N100 million ransom for their freedom. He described the demand as part of a disturbing pattern of escalating ransom requests in Akoko Edo.

Local hunters and vigilante groups were said to have immediately mobilised, combing nearby forests and farmlands in search of the abducted persons, but their efforts have so far yielded no breakthrough.

Ekundayo urged the Edo State Government and security agencies to act decisively, warning that communities in Akoko Edo were increasingly vulnerable and losing confidence in the authorities’ ability to protect them.

When reached for confirmation, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Command, CSP Eno Ikoedem, said a kidnapping incident had indeed occurred at Makeke village. She disclosed that some suspects were already in custody and that efforts were ongoing to rescue the victims.

The latest abductions follow a similar incident in which seven residents of Imoga and a hotel owner were kidnapped along the Imoga Ibillo Road. In that case, the abductors reportedly reduced their ransom demand from N100 million to N40 million before the victims were freed after an undisclosed payment.

Residents say the repeated attacks have left many communities living in fear and have renewed calls for a stronger and more visible security presence across Edo North.