The Kwara State Police command praised vigilante groups in the state for helping police officers arrest notorious kidnappings in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Paul Odama, announced a massive haul of different criminals in the state, including kidnappers, ritualists and internet fraudsters.
Announcing the arrests at the state police headquarters on Thursday, CP commended several vigilante groups for their role alongside security officers in carrying out the arrests described. is a breakthrough.
In lobbying the 23 suspects, CP acknowledged the cooperation of the Fulani group and local civilian police who assisted the command in containing the threat of kidnappers across the state.
He said, “I want to commend the Fulani herdsmen who also formed a vigilante group which made it possible for us to arrest some of the kidnappers and of course other local vigilante groups who were in company of police men to comb forests in the state where we arrested some of the notorious kidnappers, including one Abubakar Shehu, aka Dogo, and nine others for alleged kidnapping in the state.”
According to Punch News Paper, it was reported that Dogo is the leader of the gang which allegedly abducted a magistrate court judge and wife of Col. Theophilus Bamigboye (rtd), former Military Administrator of Bauchi and Osun States, Mrs Jumoke Bamigboye.
The judge was abducted in January this year around Eiyekorin area on the outskirts of Ilorin but regained her freedom after paying an undisclosed amount as ransom.
Others paraded with Dogo are Mohammed Aliyu (30), Yunusa Ahmadu (28), Malami Usman (27) and Dauda Amosa (28).
During the parade of suspects, Odama said that an investigation into the case revealed that Abubakar Shehu, aka Dogo, and his gang were behind the kidnapping of one Alhaji Madaki Shaibu at the Ayegun Fulani camp sometime in January 2023, where Alhaji’s son was killed.
“It was revealed that Dogo was also part of the gang that kidnapped Magistrate Bamigboye in January 2023.”
Odama added that the suspects were also involved in cow theft and fortunately the vehicle used in the cow theft was also recovered.
He said the suspect will be charged before the court as soon as the investigation concludes. Other suspects paraded are Aliyu Abubakar (30), Aliyu Bingi (30), Shehu Sanni (35), Abdulahi Saidu (28) and Bayo Dudu (30).
Talking about how they were arrested, the Qatari official said, “A team of Bani policemen in conjunction with local guards acting on intelligence information stormed Bani forest in search of the suspected kidnappers.
The search operation led to the arrest of three suspects who confessed during interrogation to be the kidnappers, two of their members by the names of Bayo Dudu and Aliyu Abubakar who reside in Niger state.
“Their operating weapon, an AK-47 rifle, is in the possession of one of the suspects, which are now numerous,” he said.
The CP equally paraded Habeeb Ayomide, Oni Obasanjo, Mohammed Abdulkareem, Ibrahim Apete, Ajao Musa, Ismail Ayomide, Adebayo Abdulateef and Yusuf Najeem for alleged ritual activities.
The items recovered are local pots with concoction, natural sponges, coronation satires and a smart phone.
He said that “the suspects mentioned above have been arrested on the basis of actionable intelligence that some alleged ritualists are seen gathered at an isolated hotel in Malete Moro Local Government Area, Kwara State.
“Anti-cult operatives rounded up the suspects with all items recovered from them.
“All of them have confessed to internet fraud but the command is investigating them for formal activities.
They would be charged to the courts at the conclusion of the investigation,” said the Commissioner.
