Police authorities in Kogi and Edo states have stepped up joint security operations along their shared boundary following concerns over kidnapping and banditry in communities around the border.
The renewed collaboration comes as a coordinated operation involving security agencies from both states led to the rescue of nine people who were abducted along the Mameramo-Adomu Road on August 11.
According to the Kogi State Police Command, the victims were freed during an intelligence-led operation involving personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy Ship Lugard, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, local vigilantes and other auxiliary security operatives.
After their rescue, the victims were evacuated from the area, debriefed by security personnel and reunited with their families.
The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Bello Kankarofi, and his Edo counterpart, CP Patrick Daaor, subsequently conducted a joint command patrol at Aguda Village on the Okene-Auchi Expressway on Thursday, August 13.
The visit formed part of an ongoing clearance operation along the Kogi-Edo corridor, which had entered its seventh day.
During the patrol, the two commissioners inspected security deployments and assessed vulnerable routes in the area. They also visited identified black spots and suspected criminal hideouts within the border forest to evaluate the readiness of personnel involved in the operation.
The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, said the exercise was designed to improve intelligence sharing, operational planning and coordinated responses to security threats across the two states.
Residents of the border community also had an opportunity to raise concerns about the security situation in their area during the visit.
Afusat said the police authorities took note of the issues raised and would continue to introduce appropriate measures to address identified threats under the community policing initiative of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu.
The joint operation is expected to remain in place as both commands seek to deny kidnappers, bandits and other criminal groups the opportunity to use the boundary as an escape route or safe haven.
The commissioners reaffirmed their commitment to sustained cooperation between the two police commands, particularly in the areas of intelligence exchange and joint operations.
They also pledged to strengthen security along the Okene-Auchi corridor and surrounding communities, with the aim of protecting residents, travellers and other road users from further attacks.
