By Evelyn Usman
The Inspector General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, recently decorated Monday Agbonika and 12 other Commissioners of Police as Assistant Inspectors General of Police, AIGs, following their elevation by the Police Service Commission. The officers were decorated at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on July 21.
The promotion followed the officers’ performance in written examinations and oral interviews conducted by the Police Service Commission.
Following his elevation, Agbonika was deployed as the AIG in charge of Zone 5 Headquarters, Benin City, which supervises the Edo and Delta State Police Commands.
His new posting, it was gathered, comes against the backdrop of his record as Edo State Commissioner of Police, where he spearheaded sustained operations against kidnapping and other violent crimes.
Kidnap war
Agbonika assumed office as the 50th Commissioner of Police in Edo State in April 2025, at a time kidnapping had become a major security concern in the state. He subsequently made the fight against kidnapping and other violent crimes a major priority of his administration, intensifying intelligence led operations, bush combing, aerial surveillance and collaboration with the military, hunters, vigilantes and the Edo State Security Corps.
The approach according to the command, yielded a string of breakthroughs, with figures publicly disclosed by the command showing that at least 154 suspected kidnappers were arrested, while more than 150 kidnapped victims were rescued in various operations during his tenure.
A breakdown of the reported successes showed that within Agbonika’s first month in office, the command arrested 12 suspected kidnappers and rescued seven victims. It also announced the recovery of 25 firearms and ammunition.
Statistics at Vanguard’s disposal showed that in May 2025, the CP announced the rescue of 37 kidnapped victims, including the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Esan West Local Government Area, in a series of operations across the state. According to the report, the victims were rescued without payment of ransom through what was described as intelligence led operations involving the police, military, civil defence personnel, hunters and vigilantes.
One of the more notable developments under Agbonika, was the deployment of technology in the anti kidnapping campaign.
In January 2026, the Edo Police Command, under his watch as CP, carried out what was described as its first drone led kidnap rescue operation after Agbonika activated the Eagle Combat Drone Unit following an abduction at Egbojo Ikabigbo in Etsako West Local Government Area of the state.
Real time aerial intelligence, according to officers in the command, helped locate the kidnappers’ camp, forcing the suspects to flee and abandon nine victims: one adult male, three adult females and five children. Two locally fabricated AK 49 rifles were also recovered.
By February, it was gathered that the command had reported another major scorecard. Agbonika disclosed that 87 suspected kidnappers were arrested and 30 kidnapped victims rescued between January and February 2026. He attributed the successes to intelligence led operations, bush combing, aerial surveillance and joint raids with other security agencies.
The campaign was sustained into the second quarter. Presenting the command’s operational scorecard in May, Agbonika said 55 suspected kidnappers were arrested and 58 victims rescued between March and May 2026. The operations, according to him, were supported by drones, digital tracking systems, surveillance equipment and intelligence gathering.
Taking the battle to hideouts
Perhaps more significant than the arrests and rescues was the effort to deny criminal gangs safe havens.
In February, the command reportedly intensified surveillance around forests in Edo Central after Agbonika personally led a six day operational assessment of the area. The Ubiaja, Uzea and Uromi Amedokhian forest corridors were identified as security flashpoints and placed under heightened operational attention.
In one of the resulting operations, police arrested suspected members of kidnapping gangs, while another operation in the Onogholọ and Akwocha forests resulted in a gun duel in which one suspected kidnapper was neutralised, with three others reportedly escaping with gunshot wounds. A shotgun, cartridges and a facial mask were recovered.
In June, the command also recorded a breakthrough in the investigation of the kidnapping of a woman at the Vegetable Market area of Benin City. Operatives of the Intelligence Response Team arrested one suspected member of the syndicate, while another suspect was neutralised during a gun duel. Other alleged members of the organised crime network were subsequently arrested.
Statistics further showed that in one operation in June, 11 persons abducted from their farms in Ogbido Community, Iyahmo, were rescued unhurt after police, hunters and local vigilantes engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle, forcing them to abandon their captives and flee into the forest.
In July 2026, three students of Ambrose Alli University, AAU, Ekpoma, were rescued less than 48 hours after they were abducted in the Ujemen G.T. Extension area of the town following a joint operation involving the police, Nigerian Army, Edo State Security Corps and local hunters, which culminated in a gun battle with the kidnappers at their hideout in Erah Forest. One suspected kidnapper , identified as Peter Ekpen, was neutralised while another was arrested.
Government’s support
Agbonika’s operational campaign, according to many policemen at the Edo State Police Command, also benefited from the Edo State Government’s uncompromising posture towards kidnapping.
Governor Monday Okpebholo had warned that buildings used as hideouts by kidnappers would be demolished, and the administration followed through with several such actions.
In March 2025, the state government matched words with action by demolishing properties linked to suspected kidnappers in Edo Central after suspects were arrested and allegedly confessed to their involvement in kidnapping operations.
In July 2026, the government again demolished a building in Obagie N’Evbuosa, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area, allegedly belonging to a suspected kidnap kingpin. Authorities said the building was used as a hideout where victims were allegedly held before being moved elsewhere.
Many policemen opined that the synergy between the police and the state government therefore provided an added layer to the anti kidnapping campaign, with the police pursuing suspects and dismantling criminal networks, while the government deployed legal and administrative measures against properties allegedly used as criminal hideouts.
New responsibility
Now in charge of Zone 5, Agbonika inherits responsibility for policing two states with complex security challenges.
His immediate task will be to replicate the intelligence led and technology supported approach deployed in Edo while adapting it to the peculiar security realities of Delta State.
At his assumption of office, the new AIG pledged to consolidate on the achievements of his predecessors, with emphasis on professionalism, intelligence led policing, respect for human rights and improved operational efficiency. He also urged residents of Edo and Delta to make timely and credible information available to the police.
For Agbonika, however, the elevation is more than a new rank, as expectations are high that he will bring his experience and successes in the fight against kidnapping in Edo to bear on his new assignment across Zone 5, which comprises the two South South states of Edo and Delta.
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