The Kwara State Police Command has foiled an alleged kidnap-for-ransom plot in Okuta, Baruten Local Government Area, and arrested two suspected foreign collaborators.
The suspects, identified as Yakubu Ismaila and Hadiza Kosia, both nationals of the Republic of Togo, were accused of threatening to abduct a resident unless he paid N22 million.
Police said the arrests followed a distress report by a resident, S. Ismaila, who alleged that he received repeated threatening phone calls demanding payment to avoid being kidnapped.
The caller also reportedly threatened to abduct the complainant and kill his younger brother, Musa Ismaila, if the ransom was not paid.
Police spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said operatives of the Okuta Police Division, working with the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), launched an intelligence-driven operation using technical support to track the suspects.
“The operation followed a report received at the Okuta Police Division from one S. Ismaila of Okuta, who reported that he had received a series of threatening telephone calls from an anonymous caller demanding the sum of Twenty-Two Million Naira (₦22,000,000.00) to avert his planned abduction,” she said.
She added that investigations led to the arrest of the two suspects, confirming their foreign nationality.
Preliminary investigations, according to the police, linked the suspects to the alleged criminal conspiracy, with both reportedly confessing during interrogation.
A mobile phone believed to have been used in making the threatening calls was recovered and taken into custody as evidence.
The Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, CP Ojo Adekimi, commended the officers for their swift response and professionalism, noting that the operation prevented a potential security breach.
He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and assured that other members of the suspected network would be apprehended and prosecuted.
The Commissioner also urged residents to remain vigilant and support security agencies with timely and credible information to sustain peace and security across the state.
