Two additional suspected informants to kidnappers in Kogi State have been arrested by security operatives, in a crackdown on crime collaborators in the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo made the disclosure in a statement signed in Lokoja on Tuesday.

The arrest brought to three, the number of suspected informants in custody, after one Babatunde Aledare, was earlier arrested in Ayetoro Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.

Aledare reportedly revealed the identities of other collaborators, allegedly involved in aiding kidnapping operations in the area.

Mr Fanwo gave the names of the suspected informants arrested within the last 48 hours to include Dare Okegbe and Lakutu Omobab-Ajelesimi, both from Ayetoro Kiri.

He said, “Both suspects have confessed to working with kidnappers to set up members of their own community for abduction. This development marks another significant step in our ongoing efforts to dismantle kidnapping networks in Okunland.’’

The commissioner said that the security operatives were still on the trail of the kidnappers and their collaborators to rid the state of criminality.

According to him, the state government remains committed to ensuring safety of all citizens and will leave no stones unturned in the fight against criminality.

Security operatives in Kogi State launched a crackdown on criminals to rid the state of their nefarious activities.

Mr Fanwo had described activities of kidnapping gangs in parts of the state, such as Kabba/Bunu, Ijumu, Yagba East, and Yagba West Local Government Areas as unfortunate and sad.

He said the discovery followed a coordinated crackdown by joint security forces in response to recent security breaches, including abduction and death of a retired soldier from Odo-Ape, the kidnap of a prominent farmer from Ponyan in Yagba East, and other related incidents in Yagba West.

The commissioner said the operations led to significant arrests and exposure of those fuelling crimes in the state, including the case of the late Samson Enietan, a suspected criminal informant who died shortly after being identified as a key accomplice in the Odo-Ape abduction.

The commissioner said Enietan’s death was initially linked to a suicide, which the state government suspected foul play, alleging that Enietan might have been eliminated by fellow collaborators to cover up a wider network of criminal conspirators.

According to him, the developments confirmed the painful reality that some residents were aiding those who destabilised their own communities through disturbing patterns of logistical support being provided to kidnappers.

He alleged that some bread sellers and sachet water factories were supplying necessities to kidnappers in forest hideouts, while motorcycle riders acted as couriers, transporting goods to the criminals, allowing them to sustain operations undetected.

He stated, “In addition, certain fuel stations were implicated in selling petrol in containers, which were then transported into the forest to power the kidnappers’ camps. Again, some wood contractors also participated by supplying food to criminal groups in exchange for “business protection.”

The commissioner warned that vendors, fuel stations, and individuals found supporting criminals would be prosecuted and no one would be spared, whether they sell fuel, food, land, or leak information to the criminals.

He said that currently, some traditional rulers and youths were under investigation for allegedly selling land to criminals who used them to establish detention camps for their victims.

Mr Fanwo reaffirmed Governor Ahmed Ododo’s administration’s commitment to ensuring peace and stability across the state, stressing that efforts to rescue all remaining kidnapped victims are ongoing.

(NAN)