The police in Oyo State killed two suspected kidnappers during an operation to rescue Busayo Adelabu-JohnPaul, 42, and her twin sons, Peter and Paul, on Saturday.

The state Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, said that a cache of weapons, charms and an unregistered Toyota Corolla were also recovered during the raid.

He disclosed this at a news conference in Ibadan on Sunday while updating the public on the command’s latest offensive against kidnapping gangs responsible for the kidnap of Mrs Busayo Adelabu-JohnPaul and her twin sons on June 3.

Mrs Adelabu-JohnPaul is sister to a former minister of power and governorship aspirant in the state, Adebayo Adelabu.

Mr Olugbenga said the operation was executed on Saturday by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team, FID-IRT, working alongside the Oyo State Police Command and other tactical units.

He described the raid as a decisive strike that dismantled a kidnapping syndicate terrorising parts of Ibadan.

“The raid was triggered by the abduction of Mrs Adelabu-JohnPaul, 42, and her twi -year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, on June 3, at about 7:30 a.m.

“The victims were seized by four armed men in an unregistered ash-coloured Toyota vehicle along Elewura Street, off Ring Road in Ibadan, while the mother was taking the children to school.

“Acting on directives from the Inspector-General of Police. We began immediate intelligence-led manhunt.

“Operatives intensified surveillance and tracking, which led to the arrest of Wale Abolalewa, alias “Oloro,” a suspect already on the command’s watchlist. His arrest provided the first major breakthrough into the gang’s network.

“Further interrogation led investigators to Dare Oyedele, alias “Solution,” identified as a key operational link within the syndicate,”he said.

Mr Olugbenga said that further findings showed the gang earlier tried to recruit an insider in the victim’s household through a staff member named Segun, as part of a surveillance plot to monitor the family’s movements and school routines.

He added that digital forensics showed the gang’s meticulous planning, noting that analysis of their devices uncovered photographs of the victim’s vehicles, school environment, and daily lifestyle patterns used to profile the family before the attack.

“The evidence helped operatives map the gang’s movements and pinpoint their hideout. With intelligence assets combined, operatives traced the syndicate to a hideout in the Lado community, Ayegun, Ibadan.

“At about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, FID-IRT operatives backed by the Oyo State Command tactical teams stormed the location.

“A gang member identified as “Kelechi,” who had travelled from Lagos and was stationed as lookout, opened fire on the advancing operatives.

“The police responded with superior tactical precision, neutralising Kelechi and another unidentified gang member in the ensuing gun duel,” he said

The CP said that the operation cleared the hideout and achieved its primary objective of rescuing the kidnap victims alive, noting that the victims were found unhurt and reunited with their family.

“In addition to the two neutralised suspects, police arrested four other members of the syndicate. They include Wale Abolalewa alias “Oloro,” Dare Oyedele alias “Solution,” and two alleged facilitators of the hideout, Semiu Ishola, 39, and Adeyemi Ayobami, 35.

“All are assisting investigators with information on fleeing members. Exhibits recovered from the hideout include three pump-action guns, 14 live cartridges, the unregistered ash-coloured Toyota Corolla used in the abduction, criminal charms, a battle axe, a hammer.

“Others include substances suspected to be hard drugs, and two face masks,”he said.

Earlier, while conducting journalists round the house used as hideout for kidnapping operations, the CP said investigations were ongoing to apprehend fleeing suspects, who fled with gunshot injuries.

He urged medical practitioners, private hospitals, and traditional bone setters to report anyone presenting suspicious gunshot wounds.

He urged the general public, members of landlords association, community development associations to always reports strange movements around their communities to relevant authorities.

The CP said that investigations noted that the suspects had been using the house for kidnapping operations for long, using unregistered vehicle with strange movements but nobody reported or questioned them in the community.

He assured Oyo residents that the command, in collaboration with the IG and state government, remains committed to transparency, accountability, and relentless pursuit of criminals across the state.

A landlord in the area, Moruf Orankan, said the house used for the operation belong to a woman who was not living in the community.

He added that the house was built before he moved to that community four years ago, but its landlady had never sat with them at landlord association meetings.

(NAN)