Army Seizes Five Suspects, Six AK-47 Rifles in Kwara

Army Seizes Five Suspects, Six AK-47 Rifles in Kwara

By Abiola Adigun
Albarka 89.9 FM

The Nigerian Army on Thursday arrested five suspected kidnappers in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State after six AK-47 rifles were discovered hidden in a vehicle.
The suspects were intercepted at a military checkpoint along the Share axis in a Golf saloon car where the weapons had been concealed under bags of charcoal.
“Five suspected kidnappers were arrested today along SHARE axis. They concealed six AK47 under the charcoal in a Golf saloon car this afternoon,” a top security aide confirmed Thursday night. “They were intercepted by the Nigerian Army team on patrol. The five suspects are undergoing interrogation.”
The arrest comes amid heightened security operations across Kwara following a surge in kidnapping and bandit attacks in the state’s southern axis.
Only a day earlier, six persons suspected to be couriers for kidnapping gangs were arrested in Babanla, also in Ifelodun, while transporting a large consignment of bread and petrol. They were reportedly hiding during a surveillance operation conducted by government-backed local vigilantes before being handed over to the police headquarters in Ilorin.
On Tuesday, a coordinated assault by vigilante forces in the Omu Aran–Eruku corridor resulted in the elimination of several suspected criminals. Security sources said six motorcycles, assault rifles, and loaded magazines were recovered from the hideouts. Four women and two young men, believed to have been abducted, were rescued during the raid and later transferred to the police divisional office in Omu Aran.
Security analysts note that Kwara, once considered relatively insulated from the wave of violent crimes ravaging neighbouring states, has in recent years witnessed an uptick in kidnapping, banditry, and attacks on rural communities.
A senior security source in Ilorin described the latest arrests as “a major breakthrough in ongoing efforts to dismantle kidnapping cells operating across Kwara’s rural communities.”
He added: “The military and vigilantes are working round the clock. What we are seeing now is the result of better coordination and intelligence gathering. The state government has also stepped up support for these joint operations.”
Residents of affected communities have continued to call for sustained security patrols, particularly around forests and border communities, where kidnapping gangs are believed to operate.