The 64-year-old Brena was kidnapped on Sunday evening
The abducted Italian priest, Reverend Father Luigi Brena of Somascan Father’s community has been rescued by the Nigeria Police Force, Edo State command.
The 64-year-old Brena was kidnapped on Sunday evening abducted by hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers along Ogunwenyi through Usen community in Ovia South-West Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The development was confirmed on Monday in a statement by the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, Jennifer Iwegbu, noting that police operatives attached to the Iguobazuwa division were alerted of the incident on Sunday at about 5:45pm and immediately trailed the suspected kidnappers to their camp.
“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 cleric’s rescue.
“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,” she added.
“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.”
The Edo State Police Commissioner appealed to residents not to deter from partnering with the police by supporting them with prompt and useful information that could lead to the arrest of criminals terrorising the state.
"The command remained committed to the fight against kidnapping and other criminal acts in Edo," he stressed.