By Emmanuel Obisue
Edo State Police Command have rescued an Italian Priest identified as Reverend Father Luigi Brena of Somascan Father’s community.
The Deputy Public Relations Officer of the state command, Jennifer Iwegbu, confirmed this in a statement on Monday in Benin City.
She revealed that 64-year-old Brena was kidnapped on Sunday evening by hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers along Ogunwenyi through Usen community in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of the state.
Gunmen also kidnapped two Catholic priests around Ehor and Iruekpen communities along the Benin-Auchi Expressway, a day to Brena’s abduction.
The abducted clergymen who are yet to regain freedom are Rev. Fr. Udo Peter of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Uromi, and Rev Fr. Philemon Oboh of St. Joseph Retreat Centre, Ugboha in Esan South East Local Government Area of the state.
“In our continuous efforts to curb crime and criminality in the state, most especially kidnapping, the Edo State Police Commissioner, CP Abutu Yaro, fdc has massively deployed police operatives to most of the identified volatile areas in the state and the move has started yielding positive results,” Iwegbu said while announcing the Italian’s rescue.
She explained further that police operatives attached to Iguobazuwa Division were alerted of the incident on Sunday at about 5:45 pm and immediately trailed the suspected kidnappers to their camp.
“The superior firepower of the police operatives neutralised three of the kidnappers while the rest escaped into the forest with various degrees of gunshot injuries, abandoning their victim.
“The victim was immediately rushed to Igbinedion Teaching Hospital, Okada for medical attention. Meanwhile, intensive bush combing is ongoing with the aim of arresting the suspected kidnappers now on the run,” she added.
