Security forces in Kogi State have arrested two more individuals suspected of acting as informants for kidnappers, bringing the total number of suspects in custody to three.
The development was confirmed on Tuesday in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, in Lokoja.
The arrests follow the earlier detention of Babatunde Aledare on Sunday in Ayetoro Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area. Aledare reportedly confessed to working with kidnappers and provided information that led to the apprehension of the two additional suspects.
Fanwo said the arrests form part of a broader crackdown on criminal collaborators across the state.
Fanwo gave the names of the suspected informants arrested within the last 48 hours to include Dare Okegbe and
Lakutu Omobab-Ajelesimi, both from Ayetoro Kiri.
“Both suspects have confessed to working with kidnappers to set up members of their own community for abduction.
“This development marks another significant step in our ongoing efforts to dismantle kidnapping networks in Okunland,” he stated.
The commissioner said the security operatives are still on the trail of the kidnappers and their collaborators to rid the state of criminality.
According to him, the state government remains committed to ensuring safety of all citizens and will leave no stones unturned in the fight against criminality.
NAN recalls that security operatives in Kogi launched a crackdown on criminal elements to rid the state of their nefarious activities.
Fanwo had described activities of kidnapping gangs in parts of the state, such as Kabba/Bunu, Ijumu, Yagba East, and Yagba West Local Government Areas as very unfortunate and sad.
He said the discovery followed a coordinated crackdown by joint security forces in response to recent security breaches, including abduction and death of a retired Nigerian Army officer from Odo-Ape, the kidnap of a prominent farmer from Ponyan in Yagba East, and a series of related incidents in Yagba West.
The commissioner said the operations led to significant arrests and exposure of those fueling criminal activities in the state, including the case of late Samson Enietan, a suspect criminal informant who died shortly after being identified as a key accomplice in the Odo-Ape abduction.
The commissioner said Enietan’s death was initially linked to a suicide, which the state government suspected foul play, alleging that Enietan might have been eliminated by fellow collaborators to cover up a wider network of criminal conspirators.
According to him, these developments confirmed the painful reality that some residents were aiding those, who distabilised their own communities through disturbing patterns of logistical support being provided to kidnappers.
He alleged that some bread sellers and sachet water factories were supplying basic necessities to kidnappers in forest hideouts, while motorcycle riders acted as couriers, transporting goods to the criminals, allowing them to sustain operations undetected.
“In addition, certain fuel stations were implicated in selling petrol in containers, which were then transported into the forest to power the kidnappers’ camps.
“Again, some wood contractors, also participated by supplying food to criminal groups in exchange for “business protection.”
The commissioner warned that, vendors, fuel stations, and individuals found supporting criminals would be prosecuted and no one would be spared, whether you sold fuel, food, land, or information to the criminals.
He said that currently, some traditional rulers and youths are under investigation for allegedly selling land to criminal elements, who used them to establish detention camps for kidnapped victims.
Fanwo reaffirmed Gov. Ahmed Ododo’s administration’s commitment to ensuring peace and stability across the state, stressing that efforts to rescue all remaining kidnapped victims are ongoing.
