Police Kill Three Suspected Kidnappers, Rescue Italian Rev Fr, 2 Others

An Edo State police team has rescued a foreign Catholic priest abducted in the state. The victim, Rev. Fr. Luigi Brena, 64, was rescued after the police embarked on a forest combing following a tip-off.
According to available information, the Iguobazuwa Police Division received a tip-off about the abduction of Fr. Brena on July3, 2022.
The police operatives immediately swung into action and trailed the suspected kidnappers to their hideout.
On sighting the operatives, the suspects opened fire, but the police killed three of the gang’s members while the others fled into the forest.
Fr. Luigi Brena was rescued and rushed to Igbinedion Teaching Hospital, Okada, for a medical check-up.Fr. Brena, an Italian of the Somascan Fathers Community, was abducted along Ogunwenyi through Usen community in Ovia South-West Local Government Area.
The police have continued to comb the forest to arrest the fleeing suspected kidnappers.
The Edo State commissioner of Police, CP Abutu Yaro, called on the people of the state not to deter in furnishing the Command with prompt and useful information that will lead to the arrest of criminals terrorizing the state.
In a related issue, one week after, Rev. Fr. Christopher Odia of St. Michael Catholic Church Ikabigbo in Etsako West LocalGArea was kidnapped and killed by his abductors, two other Catholic priests were on Saturday July 2, 2022, kidnapped along the Benin/Ekpoma road in the same Edo State.
Report obtained by National Point correspondent in Benin gave the names of the two Catholic priests as Rev. Father Peter Udo of St Patrick’s Catholic Church Uromi in Esan North East Local Government Area and Rev. Father Philemon Oboh of St Joseph Retreat Center, Ugboha in Esan South East Local Government Area.
It was gathered that, the two Catholic priests were kidnapped between Ehor and Iruekpen along the Benin- Ekpoma Express Way on their way to Uromi from Benin city, the Edo state capital.
According to the report, the two clergymen had attended a programme in Benin city on Saturday, July 2, 2022 and were returning to base when their vehicle ran into some gunmen who violently intercepted their car.
The suspected gun men first fired several gun shots into the air which forced their car to stop.The priests were then allegedly forced into the bush by the gun men. As at press time, their abductors were yet to call for ransom.
Confirming the abduction, Edo State Police Command spokesman, Chidi Nwanbuzor said the divisional police officer in charge of Ugboha Police Division has called to inform him that one Rev Father Amos Abhulimen on Saturday came to the station to report the kidnap of the two Rev Fathers.
Nwanbuzor said based on the report, the state commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, has dispatched a team of policemen as a reinforcement to Ugboha Division to go for the rescue of the two Catholic priests unhurt and get the kidnappers arrested.
Rev. Fr. Christopher Odia who was kidnapped by herdsmen in the early hours of Sunday June at Ikabigbo Community in Etsako West Local Government was killed by his abductors.
Rev Fr. Odia who was the parish priest of St Michael Catholic Church, lkabigbo was kidnapped in his rectory while coming out to officiate the early morning Sunday mass.
Reacting to anxiety over the spate of kidnap of clerics, the Edo State acting governor, Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, announced that the government was strengthening its security architecture and reviewing strategies to guarantee the safety and security of residents across communities in the state.
Philip Shaibu gave the assurance while addressing journalists after an emergency State Security Council meeting held at the Government House, Benin City.
The emergency security meeting followed the kidnap of two Catholic priests at the Ekpoma axis of the Benin-Auchi Road.
“We are working to secure our churches and communities. We are looking beyond securing the churches alone but focusing on securing our communities and state.
“There is work in progress and we have discussed a whole lot of security issues. In the coming weeks, things will surely change in the state to ensure a secured environment for Edo people.” he promised.
In comments the Edo State police commissioner, Abutu Yaro, said the security situation in the state has been reviewed at the security meeting and measures have been adopted to secure and make the state safe for all.
He said:“We have just finished our emergency Security Council meeting and have reviewed the security situation at the moment and the overall security of the state and have adopted measures that are relevant to the needs of the moment and that of the future.
“We wish to inform you and all persons in the state and beyond, that the Edo State Government is on top of the situation and people should be reassured that despite the situation at the moment, the state is stable and under control.”
The CP said security agencies in the state are working round the clock to secure the release of the kidnapped Catholic priests.
Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Oyenude Kure in his remark, called for prayers from Christians in the state, urging them to support the government’s efforts at improving security across the state.
National Point reports that the new security strategy appears to be paying off as the two Rev Fathers abducted on the Benin-Auchi road have been set free by the Police .