Police Arrest Four Suspected Kidnap Syndicate in Kwara

The Kwara State Police Command has announced the arrest of four suspected kidnap syndicate.

This was made known in separate press statements issued by the spokesperson of the State Police Command, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, on Thursday, saying the four suspected kidnappers were arrested at different locations in Share, the headquarters of Ifelodun local government area and Ilesha-Baruba in Baruten local government area of the state on January 9 and 15, 2025, respectively.

The statements read: “The Kwara State Police Command has successfully foiled a kidnapping plot and arrested two suspects involved in criminal conspiracy and extortion. On January 9, 2025, at about 1100hrs, the Anti-kidnapping Squad of the State Criminal Investigation Department of the command acted on a report by two individuals from Ifelodun local government area who received threatening calls and messages demanding a ransom of Five million naira (N5,000,000) to avoid being kidnapped.

“Through intelligence-led operations, the police detectives tracked and arrested one Umar Sanni of Tarshan Girgi, Wushishi of Niger State, whose apprehension led to the arrest of one Dairu Isiaku of Iyana Share, Ifelodun LGA, Kwara State. Both suspects have confessed to their roles in the crime, including providing phone numbers of numerous potential victims and issuing threats to extort money. The suspects have been charged to court and remanded in prison custody.”

“On January 15, 2025, at about 06:30 hrs, a resident of Ajuba Fulani Camp, Ilesha Baruba, discovered a white paper placed at the front door of his residence with two phone numbers written on it. Upon calling one of the numbers, the receiver threatened to kidnap him and his family unless a ransom of ₦20 million was paid. After negotiations, the demand was reduced to ₦4 million. The victim promptly reported the case to the police.

“Through intelligence-driven operations, operatives from the State Criminal Investigations Department (Anti-Kidnapping Squad) successfully tracked the identified phone numbers, leading to the arrest of two suspects. They are Tukur Muhammad and Yahaya Abdullahi.

“During thorough interrogations, the suspects admitted to strategically placing their contact details at the victim’s residence to establish communication and coerce a ransom payment. Further investigations uncovered a pattern of criminal activity, indicating that the suspects had been utilizing multiple phone numbers to issue threats and extort unsuspecting individuals. The suspects have been charged to court and remanded in one of the states’s correctional facility.”