The Bayelsa State Police Command has rescued a 42-year-old woman, Esther Chinedu, who was abducted in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, after spending nearly a month in captivity.
Chinedu was reportedly abducted on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, after suspected kidnappers stormed her phone shop under the guise of wanting to purchase an item.
The Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa, CP Ajao Adewale, disclosed the development on Sunday while briefing journalists on the successful operation. He said the victim was rescued unhurt from the kidnappers’ hideout in Ogumbri Forest, South-Dajo area.
Adewale said the command received a distress call around 7pm on the day of the abduction and immediately activated its intelligence network to track the suspects.
According to him, intelligence gathered from digital and local sources eventually provided leads on the kidnappers’ movements and their ransom negotiations with the victim’s family.
He said the kidnappers initially demanded N100 million but later reduced the ransom to N20 million.
The commissioner said operatives of the command’s Crime Response Squad, led by CSP Chris Mark, moved into the Ogumbri Forest area five days before the final operation and gradually closed in on the suspects.
He said the operatives eventually stormed the kidnappers’ camp around 1:45am, rescuing Chinedu and arresting one of the suspected kidnappers.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Mark from Akemfa 1 community, was arrested during the operation.
Adewale said the suspect had confessed to his alleged involvement in the abduction and provided details of how the gang reportedly carried out the operation.
According to the commissioner, the suspects approached the victim’s shop pretending to be customers before abducting her.
“They surveyed the environment and saw that the woman was not sufficiently protected. They abducted her, put her in a vehicle and moved her to the riverside, where she was ferried to the camp,” he said.
The rescue operation involved personnel from the Crime Response Squad, the Federal Criminal Investigation Unit and the Marine Department.
Adewale commended the officers and men involved in the operation, particularly those who endured difficult conditions on the waterways while tracking the suspects.
He also thanked the Bayelsa State Government, led by Governor Douye Diri, for providing logistical support for the operation.
The police commissioner warned criminal elements operating in the state that the command would continue to pursue and bring them to justice.
Husband Recounts Ordeal
The victim’s husband, speaking after her rescue, recounted the ordeal he faced while negotiating with the kidnappers for his wife’s release.
He said he travelled to Abia State early on July 28 to purchase mattresses and began receiving strange calls shortly after 8am, informing him that his wife had been kidnapped.
“I have been in Bayelsa for the past 20 years. I have not had anything kidnapping in Amassoma. Why is it my wife?” he recalled asking himself after receiving the news.
The husband said he later contacted one of the callers, who confirmed that his wife had been abducted.
He added that the Divisional Police Officer also contacted him and informed him that two patrol teams had been deployed to his residence along Amassoma Road.
