Police in Edo have killed eight suspected criminals in a shootout and arrested 58 suspects involved in kidnapping, armed robbery and cultism among others.
The state police commissioner, Philip Aliyu Ogbadu, who disclosed this at the weekend in Benin said the suspects were arrested between January 1 and January 5.
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He said the deceased persons were killed while exchanging fire with the police during robbery and kidnaping operations.
Ogbadu said 13 suspects were arrested for cultism, 17 for armed robbery, 11 for kidnapping, three for rituals, six for murder, five for unlawful possession of firearms, one for rape while two were arrested for assault.
He said three riffles, eight locally made guns, 119 live ammunition, 27 cartridges and eight vehicles were recovered from the suspects.
He noted that the support of the stakeholders is critical for effective policing of communities, adding that to bridge the gap created by a shortage of manpower, the command is liaising with vigilante groups in policing the state.
