The Ekiti State Police Command apprehended five suspected kidnappers in the Iju Ikere boundary area of the state. The arrest was confirmed in a statement released by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abutu Sunday, on Tuesday. In a separate incident, gunmen believed to be herdsmen reportedly killed two traditional rulers between Oke-Ako and Ipao-Ekiti in Ajoni Local Government Area of the state on Monday.
The Ekiti State Police Command arrested five suspected kidnappers in the Iju Ikere boundary area. The suspects, identified as Usman Jelili, Mohammed Bande, Abubakar Aliu, Isah Abdulahi, and Suleiman Abdulahi, were apprehended during a joint operation involving the police, NSCDC, Amotekun, and local hunters. The operation aimed to eliminate criminal elements, particularly kidnappers, from the Oke-Osun area and the dense woodland along the Iju-Ikere boundary in Ekiti State.
The suspects were said to have been arrested in the jungle with four phones, one cutlass, one jack dagger, and two motorcycles.
The statement partly read, “In a bid to flush out criminal elements, especially kidnappers out of the state, a combined team of the police, NSCDC, Amotekun, OPC and local hunters today embarked on a bush combing operation through Oke-Osun, Ikere/Igbo-Okah to the thick forest around Iju/Ikere boundary.
“During the operation, five suspected kidnappers, namely- Usman Jelili, Mohammed Bande, Abubakar Aliu, Isah Abdulahi, and Suleiman Abdullahi, were arrested.
“During interrogation, the suspects claimed to be herdsmen, but it was later discovered that none of them had cattle, and no cattle were found with them in the forest where they were arrested.
“The following items were found with them in the forest; two motorcycles, one cutlass, one jack knife/ dagger, and four phones.”
