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Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped a father accompanying his son to a centre of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo state.
The incident was said to have happened around 7am on the Benin-Lagos Express road axis of Okada.
Bello Kontongs, the State PPRO who confirmed the incident, said the kidnappers kidnapped only the father leaving the son stranded.
He said “They alerted the police and we mobilized to the scene and took the boy to write the examination at the designated centre.
Kontongs added that the police had started combing the bush in a bid to rescue the victim unhurt.
Meanwhile, the PPRO in a statement debunked misleading report making the rounds on social media, alleging that over 50 school children on their way to write JAMB examination in Okada, Ovia North East, were kidnapped by herdsmen .
“It is important to state that the command under the leadership of CP ABUTU YARO, fdc has not recorded such incident in Benin or anywhere else in Edo state,” the statement read.
“The command, therefore, wishes to inform the general public that the viral report making the round is not only misleading but capable of creating panic and an attempt by the authors to paint the police and other sister security agencies in bad light.
“To this end, the CP appealed the general public to be calm as the command under his watch will continue to ensure the safety of residence.”