Operatives of the Ondo state police command have arrested a suspected logistics supplier to notorious kidnapping gangs operating across the state and the kidnappers.
Parading the suspects before journalists in Akure, Sunday, the state Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Olutokunbo Afolabi, said the suspected supplier, 30-year-old Abubakar Bamoh, was apprehended following intelligence reports that linked him to several kidnapping operations.
Afolabi said Bamoh, an indigene of Bunza local government area of Kebbi state, served as the armourer and logistics coordinator for a network of kidnappers operating in the state.
He was arrested by the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad at a Fulani camp in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore local government area of the state.
“Preliminary investigations showed that the suspect was deeply involved in providing logistics for a kidnapping operation in Osun state, where the victim was held in captivity inside a forest in Igbara-Oke,” the CP stated.
He said a search of Bamoh’s hideout led to the recovery of a Tecno mobile phone suspected to have been used for communication within the criminal gangs, and a solar panel allegedly used to power devices in the forest.
In a separate operation, Afolabi announced the rescue of a kidnap victim and the arrest of one of his abductors, following a combined effort by police operatives and local hunters in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North-East local government area.
The Police Commissioner stated that the team acted on actionable intelligence regarding the movement of the kidnappers who had abducted one Ogunniyi Semiu on May 14, 2025.
“Based on credible intelligence, the joint team laid an ambush in a forest near Supare-Akoko, believed to be a rendezvous point for the suspects who had demanded ₦14 million in ransom,” he said.
During the ensuing gun battle, several of the suspects were injured, while one identified as Babuga Muhammed from Igana, Iseyin in Oyo state, was apprehended. And the victim, Semiu, was rescued alive and unharmed, with no ransom paid.
Noting that in addition to these arrests, the command also nabbed other suspected kidnappers, including Ibrahim Umar and Paul Osanyinduro, who were allegedly operating in the Owo and Akoko areas.
The command further cracked down on suspected cultists terrorising residents of the Owo axis. Two suspects, Aliu Raymond and Olaoluwa Olootu, were arrested at Isuada in Owo for their involvement in cult-related activities as members of the Eye Confraternity.
