Kidnap Victims Spot Their Abductors at Jattu Market, Three Arrested

Three suspected kidnappers were arrested at Jattu Market in Etsako West Local Government Area, Edo State, after victims of a recent abduction recognized them in the crowd and alerted authorities. The arrest was confirmed by ASP Eno Ikoedem, spokesperson for the Edo State Police Command, in a briefing to reporters in Benin City.

The suspects, identified as Nura Dahiru, 22, Ibrahim Yakubu, 25, and Abubakar Inusa, 23, were taken into custody by a joint team from the Jattu Division of the Edo State Police Command and the Edo State Security Corps.

The sequence of events that led to their arrest is worth laying out clearly.

On May 13, 2026, Mrs. Ibrahim Jemila and at least one other person were abducted and subsequently freed. Two days later, on May 15, at around 5:50 in the evening, the Divisional Police Officer of Jattu Division received credible information that one of the suspected kidnappers had been spotted at Jattu Market, not far from where the abduction had taken place.

Officers moved fast.

"Acting swiftly on the information, operatives of the Division mobilised in collaboration with members of the Edo State Security Corps to the location where three suspects were arrested," Ikoedem said.

During the investigation that followed, two of the three suspects were positively identified by Jemila and another victim as members of the gang responsible for their abduction. Nura Dahiru and Ibrahim Yakubu were the two named as confirmed by the victims. The third suspect, Abubakar Inusa, was arrested alongside them at the scene.

There is something that stands out about this case beyond the arrest itself. The victims did not stay silent after their release. They remained alert enough, and willing enough, to identify their abductors when it mattered. That kind of cooperation between civilians and security agencies is not guaranteed in communities where fear of reprisal is real, and it is part of why this arrest happened at all.

Kidnapping in Edo State, as in several other parts of Nigeria, has become a persistent security concern that affects market traders, travelers, and rural communities disproportionately. Jattu Market is a commercial hub. The fact that a kidnapping gang was operating in and around it, and that at least one member felt comfortable enough to return there openly, says something about the boldness that goes unchecked when arrests are slow or absent.

This time, the response was neither slow nor absent.

ASP Ikoedem described the arrest as another victory in the Command's ongoing effort against abduction and violent crime in the state. The suspects are currently in custody, and investigation is ongoing.

For Mrs. Jemila and the other victim, the arrest is likely more than a statistic. They were taken, released, and then asked to look a man in the face and say yes, that is him. They did.