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The Nigeria Police Force has arrested two men described as key members of a banditry and kidnapping network operating across Kwara and neighbouring states, amid a wave of abductions and violent attacks in parts of the state.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the suspects were arrested on Friday, 19 December, during a joint operation by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team and the Kwara State Police Command.
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“Operatives of the FID–IRT, attached to Kwara State, in a covert operation carried out in collaboration with the Kwara State Police Command, intercepted and arrested two members of a dangerous banditry and kidnapping gang along the Komen–Masallaci axis in Kaiama Local Government Area,” Mr Hundeyin said in a statement issued on Friday.
He identified the suspects as Abubakar Usman, 26, also known as Siddi, and Shehu Mohammadu, 30, alias Gide, who were arrested in Komen–Masallaci village. According to the police, items recovered from them include an AK-47 rifle with a loaded magazine containing 20 rounds of live ammunition, ₦500,000 in cash suspected to be proceeds of ransom payments, and a Honda Ace 125 motorcycle, which investigators said was bought with ransom money.
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Preliminary investigations, the police said, indicate that the suspects belong to a criminal gang involved in kidnapping and armed attacks across Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and Kwara states, and also act as suppliers of arms and ammunition to other criminal groups. Mr Hundeyin added that one of the suspects, Mr Usman, was recently identified in a viral video where firearms and large sums of money were displayed.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the arrests come against the backdrop of rising insecurity in Kwara State, particularly in forested communities that link Kaiama, Patigi, Edu, Ifelodun, and Ekiti local government areas. In recent weeks, several farmers have been abducted from their farmlands, two Chinese workers were kidnapped from a road construction site along the Bode Saadu–Kaiama axis, and a traditional ruler, the Ojibara of Bayagan-Ile, was abducted in Ifelodun and remains in captivity.
The state has also witnessed deadly attacks on communities, including the 19 November assault on a church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area, where worshippers were killed and dozens abducted before being released days later. Security agencies have blamed the attacks on armed groups exploiting forest corridors to move between communities.
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Mr Hundeyin said the suspects are currently in custody and “cooperating with investigators to enable the arrest of other members of the syndicate and the recovery of additional weapons.”
Residents and community leaders have repeatedly called for sustained security operations in affected areas, warning that continued attacks are disrupting farming activities and forcing some villagers to abandon their homes.
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