Police arrest suspected kidnapper withdrawing ransom at Kwara POS terminal

Operatives of the Kwara State Police Command have apprehended one Muhamodu Sanni linked to a suspected kidnapping syndicate around the Obudu/Woru axis of Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state.

Sanni was arrested while allegedly attempting to cash out ransom proceeds linked to a recent abduction.

This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, via the command’s X handle.

She noted that the arrest followed intelligence gathering by the operatives after three persons were abducted during an armed invasion of Obudu Village on July 28, 2026.

Acting on this, the operatives expanded their scope of investigation on the financial, logistics and communications channels surrounding the abducted persons, which later led to Sanni’s arrest.

“The sustained offensive of the Kwara State Police Command against kidnapping has recorded another significant breakthrough, as intelligence-led operations successfully penetrated the support structure of a kidnapping syndicate operating around Obudu/Woru axis of Ilorin East Local Government Area, culminating in the arrest of Muhamodu Sanni while allegedly attempting to cash out ransom proceeds linked to a recent abduction.

“The breakthrough followed the activation of the command’s intelligence and tactical architecture after three persons were abducted during an armed invasion of Obudu Village on 28th July, 2026.

“Rather than limit operational efforts to the immediate scene of the attack, investigators widened the scope of investigation to the communication, logistics and financial channels sustaining the criminal operation.

“This strategy yielded results when intelligence surrounding the ransom transaction was successfully exploited, leading operatives to Muhamodu Sanni, who was intercepted at a Point-of-Sale (POS) location while allegedly attempting to withdraw ransom proceeds connected with the abduction,” the statement partly read.

It added that Sanni informed the operatives of the ransom collection and mentioned two other suspects — Aminu and Umar.

She said, “During interrogation, the suspect voluntarily cooperated with investigators and made useful disclosures concerning his role in the ransom collection process.

“He also provided information regarding other members of the syndicate, including two suspects identified as Aminu and Umar.

“The disclosures have further strengthened the intelligence picture of the network and provided additional operational leads that are being discreetly exploited.”

Ejire-Adeyemi noted that in line with the proactive and intelligence-led policing strategy of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, the command’s Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, “reassures residents that the command remains operationally positioned to disrupt criminal networks, degrade their capabilities and deny them freedom of action, while urging members of the public to sustain their support through timely, credible and actionable information.” (Punch)