Delta: Police rescue five kidnap church victims, recover ransom money

Operatives of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad have rescued five kidnapped victims of Elyon Paradise Ministry, Ogwashi-Uku, following a successful operation in Ubuluku forest, Delta State.

Recall that the victims were abducted on 22 February 2025 during a night vigil at the church.

In response, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, deployed tactical teams, including relocating Special Anti-Kidnapping operatives to Ogwashi-Uku with a mandate to ensure their safe rescue.

On 25 February 2025, a joint team comprising police operatives, the Ubuluku community vigilante, and local volunteers stormed the kidnappers’ hideout.

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Police Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Bright Edafe, in a statement on Friday, said upon sighting the officers, the suspects engaged them in a gun duel but fled under superior firepower, abandoning their captives.

All five victims were rescued unharmed and reunited with their families.

Items recovered from the scene included 13 expended cartridges and a bag containing N1.3 million, suspected to be ransom money.

A manhunt for the fleeing suspects is ongoing.

He quoted CP Abaniwonda as praising the gallantry of the police operatives and the resilience of the Ubuluku community members, including human rights activists who joined the rescue mission.

Besides the kidnapped five members of the church, the pastor in charge was shot and still lying in the hospital.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE