Nigeria security forces have stepped up operations in Kwara State with multiple raids and interceptions against suspected kidnappers across Ifelodun Local Government Area.
On Thursday, the Nigerian Army arrested five men at a checkpoint along Share after six AK-47 rifles were allegedly found concealed under charcoal in a Golf saloon car.
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“Five suspected kidnappers were arrested today along Share axis. They concealed six AK-47 under the charcoal in a Golf saloon car this afternoon,” a top security aide said on Thursday night.
“They were intercepted by the Nigerian Army team on patrol. The five suspects are undergoing interrogation.”
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Their arrest came a day after six persons suspected of working as couriers for kidnapping gangs were picked up in Babanla with large consignments of bread and petrol.
Local vigilantes, who carried out the surveillance operation, said the men were found hiding and were later transferred to police headquarters in Ilorin for further investigation.
The clampdown follows a string of offensives in the state.
On Monday night, combined forces stormed suspected hideouts around Baba Sango, near the Kwara–Kogi border, in what officials described as a “major onslaught.”
Military sources confirmed that multiple casualties were recorded among the gangs.
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Earlier in the day, the Nigerian Air Force announced airstrikes on criminal positions in the area.
Two days earlier, vigilante groups launched a coordinated assault in Omu Aran–Eruku, recovering six motorcycles, rifles, and magazines.
Four women and two young men believed to have been abducted were rescued and handed over to the police.
Officials said the series of actions form part of renewed efforts to restore calm after last Sunday’s killings in Oke Ode.
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