Oyo Police Chief Calls for Neighbors to Report Kidnappers

The Oyo State Police Commissioner, Abimbola Olugbenga, took journalists and security teams to a house in Araromi Quarters, Ayegun North, Oluyole Local Government Area. This location was where kidnappers held Busayo John-Paul, the younger sister of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and her twin sons before they were rescued.

This visit happened just a day after security operatives rescued the three victims. They were taken on June 3 in Ibadan while Mrs John-Paul was taking her sons to school.

In a video shared by PREMIUM TIMES, the commissioner spoke to journalists at the scene. He said initial investigations revealed that the kidnappers frequently used this place to hide and brought victims there without being noticed by the neighbors.

Mr Olugbenga explained that the rescue operation was successful because of intelligence gathering and technical surveillance. These efforts helped the security teams find the victims in the house.

"After the incident on the third of this month, we deployed technical and intelligence resources and followed up on the information we received, which resulted in this operation. So it was purely through intelligence," he said.

He expressed worry that the strange movements around the house went unreported, even with many people living nearby.

"There have been bringing the abductees here. They bring them here, people see them, even people greet them welcome sometimes," the police commissioner said.

He added, "When people see them and don’t talk, what do you want us to do? If they had been reporting suspicious events like this, none of these would have happened. We would have taken necessary steps on time."

He stated that the kidnappers moved victims from busy areas to this quiet place. This way, they could hide them from the public while negotiating ransoms.

"They will kidnap people from town and drive them here to hide them. They don’t want anybody to know the whereabouts of whoever is the victim," he said. "You have seen this house is within a residential area. People have been seeing them coming in here without anybody reporting the conduct."

According to him, the victims who were rescued said they could hear noises from nearby buildings but could not escape from where they were kept.

The commissioner urged residents in the state to report any unusual activities, strange tenants, and other security issues to the police.

"Obviously, if you see something, say something. If they had done that, maybe we would have been able to arrest them before now," he added.

The victims were rescued on Saturday during an operation by the Force Intelligence Department, Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT).

Police reports said two suspected kidnappers were shot dead during a fight with the operatives, and firearms were seized from the gang.

The kidnapping of Mrs John-Paul and her children had caused a lot of worry in Oyo State. Governor Seyi Makinde promised that security agencies were working hard to ensure their safe return.

While the victims are back with their family, the police said investigations are still ongoing. They are working to catch other members of the gang who might have escaped during the rescue.