Kwara CP Blames Kidnapping Surge On Informants, Youth Recruitment

The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, has revealed the real reasons kidnappings and banditry have been booming in the state.

According to CP Ojo, the surge of kidnapping and banditry in the state is the involvement of informants and the recruitment of youths with mouthwatering inducements by the criminals to source for victims.

Ojo, who disclosed this at a press conference in Ilorin on Friday evening, however, assured that the Police Command would not relent in its efforts to fight the menace to a standstill in the state.

He said: “About kidnappers recruiting people, yes, definitely they entice them. They have cheap money to give. That’s what they do. They promise, they give, they entice them.

“We discovered that most of the problems security agents have in Kwara State have to do with the fact that there are too many informants for the kidnappers.

“But we are not relenting on our efforts, we will fight them to a standstill, and I want to plead with everyone to be security conscious always and be ready to volunteer useful information to security agencies on criminal elements in their areas.”

The CP lamented that the failure of the relations and families of the abducted people to inform the police of the developments had denied the police the same device to track kidnappers across the country.

He added that instead of informing the police of their dilemma for necessary actions, the relations and families of abducted victims would be seeking ransom money to pay the Kidnappers.

He said: “The problem is that, when your ward is in the hands of the kidnappers, the kidnappers will threaten you that if you tell the police, they are going to kill the victim.

“So, because of that, many people will not give police information. They prefer to secretly go and pay ransom without telling the police, so that’s why we are encouraging people to speak out.”

He commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for his untiring efforts to rid the state of banditry and kidnappings, stressing that he’s so concerned and he’s doing everything to ensure that the menace is nipped in the bud in the State.

Adekimi also said that six persons have been arrested in connection with the recent banditry attacks on the Oke-Ode community, where 12 persons and a village head were killed.

He added that a suspect, one Sanni Gbadamosi, who allegedly arranged the kidnapping of his cousin, in Ajase-ipo, was tracked by the police advanced digital and technical device to Kano, where he was arrested.

He also disclosed the arrest of a motorcycle mechanic, one Muhammadu Jalo, in Bode Sadu, who, after a heated argument, severed the head of his customer with a machete, adding that he has confessed to the crime.

The CP also said that one Falade Ebenezer, aged 15, is now in police custody for alleged forceful carnal knowledge with a 10-year-old girl, adding that the victim’s mother reported to the police that the suspect accosted her daughter (names withheld), who was returning from school, dragged her inside an uncompleted building and forcefully had carnal knowledge with her.

Adekimi said that the suspect has confessed to the crime and that he would be arraigned in court after the completion of the police investigation.

He further said that residents who fled Oke-Ode, Babanla and other crisis-ridden communities have started returning home as a result of adequate security put in place by the government.

“Today, Friday, is a market day in Okeode, and it was full. A whole brigade is on the ground, so people have started returning to their homes. Everyone is now vigilant. I learnt someone was arrested in the market today because the people suspected his movements.”