Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers struck on Friday night in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, killing eight operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) attached to BUA Cement Factory.
The heavily armed attackers reportedly targeted a convoy escorting five Chinese expatriates from a routine patrol near the factory’s entrance in Edo State.
One of the expatriates was abducted, while the security team rescued four others before the assailants fled into the surrounding forest.
A senior officer of the NSCDC in Edo confirmed the incident on Saturday, noting that four people sustained injuries during the attack and are currently receiving treatment at a hospital.
“The incident happened on Friday, August 5, 2025, at about 10 pm, when the officers were escorting five Chinese expatriates after a routine patrol at the company’s entrance,” the official said according to the Punch. He added that a formal statement would be issued from the Corps headquarters in Abuja.
The Edo State Commandant of the NSCDC, Agun Gbenga, has since visited both the scene of the attack and the hospital where the injured officers are being treated.
Security sources also confirmed that a joint operation involving other security agencies has begun, with personnel combing the forests in search of the perpetrators.
The violence comes just hours after a separate abduction along the Benin-Auchi Road, where 16 passengers travelling to Abuja were kidnapped on Friday afternoon. The victims were dragged into the forest before police operatives, supported by vigilantes and local hunters, launched a rescue mission.
“The kidnapping took place on Friday at about 16:30 hrs. Sixteen of the victims have been rescued so far, as the search and rescue operation by the command in collaboration with vigilantes and hunters continues,” Edo State Police spokesperson, Moses Yamu, confirmed as quoted by the Punch.
(Naija news)
