THE Edo State Police Command has charged eight suspects to court for the abduction of over 20 passengers and two Nigerian Railway Corporation staff on January 7, 2023, following an attack by gunmen on the Igueben Train Station in Edo Central.
In a court document exclusively obtained by our correspondent, the police charged the suspects; Ibadin Hamilton, Ighoko Odion, Okojie Ewa, Okie Patrick, Friday Ighedujiemu, Halilu Umaru, Aminu Ibrahim, and Isah Aliyu for criminal conspiracy and kidnapping.
The charge sheet dated January 17, 2023, was filed by the Legal Section State Criminal Investigation Department, Police Headquarters, Benin City.
The document revealed that Odion, 62, Ewa, 58, Patrick, 42, Ighedujiemu, 51, Hamilton, 59, Umaru, 28, Ibrahim, 25, and Aliyu, 25, all male, conspired to kidnap the victims with the expectation of getting N20million from their relatives as ransom for their freedom.
The police on Wednesday said two village chiefs and five others were arrested in connection with the crime, while revealing that all the victims had been rescued.
Count one reads, “That you Ighoko Odion, Okojie Ewa, Okie Patrick, Friday Ighedujiemu, Ibadin Hamilton, Halilu Umaru, Aminu Ibrahim, Isah Aliyu, and others now at large, on or about the 16th day of January, 2023 at about 12:00 hours at the Nigerian Rail Way Station, Igueben, Edo State, in the Benn Judicial Division, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: Kidnapping and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 5 and punishable under Section 2 (1) (2) of the Kidnapping Prohibition (Amendment) Law of Edo State, 2013.”
Count two reads, “That you Ighoko Odion, Okojie Ewa, Okie Patrick, Friday Ighedujiemu, Ibadin Hamilton, Halilu Umaru, Aminu Ibrahim, Isah Aliyu, and others now at large, on or about the 16th day of January, 2023 at about 12:00 hours at the Nigerian Rail Way Station, Igueben, Edo State, in the Benn Judicial Division, while armed with guns and other dangerous weapon, did attack and kidnapped passengers inside the train to an unknown destination till now with intent to receive ransom payment of N20,000,000.00 before release from your captivity and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 2 (1), (2) of the kidnapping Prohibition (Amendhent) Law of Edo State, 2013.”
News Point Nigeria reports that, no fewer than 31 passengers and staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) were believed to have been abducted by gunmen on two weeks ago at the at the train station, while several passengers were injured.
The state police command, in a statement, said the kidnappers were bandits armed with AK-47 riffles and it added that, some of the passengers sustained bullet wounds, and assured that bush combing and rescue operations had begun to try to rescue the victims.
The federal government, in its own reaction, condemned the kidnapping incident at the Train Station as despicable and utterly barbaric. The government, through the Ministry of Transportation, stated that efforts were being made to rescue the kidnapped passengers and officials of the train station.
Subsequestly, about 18 vicitms were rescued at the different times and in a briefing in Benin City on Wednesday, the state’s Commissioner for Communications and Orientation, Chris Nehihkare, disclosed that, the two remaining victims of the train station attack have been rescued and seven suspects, including two traditional rulers were in police custody.
