The Oyo State Police Command has revealed how a kidnapping syndicate planned and executed the abduction of the younger sister of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and her twin sons.
According to the Police, the criminal gang spent weeks to do a reconnaissance of the family’s movement, studying their daily routines and even attempted to recruit an insider within the household before carrying out the operation.
While addressing newsmen in Ibadan, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ayanlade Olayinka, said the victims, Olaide Busayo Adegoke, 42, and her 11-year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, were abducted on 3 June while she was taking the children to school.
Olayinka, a deputy superintendent of police, said four armed men operating in an unregistered ash-coloured Toyota Corolla intercepted the victims at Elewura Street, off Ring Road, Ibadan, around 7:30 a.m. and whisked them away.
The command said investigations showed that the kidnapping was not a spontaneous crime but the result of a carefully coordinated surveillance operation.
The Police spokesperson disclosed that the syndicate had, in May, attempted to penetrate the family’s inner circle by seeking to recruit a member of staff attached to the household identified simply as Segun.
“The gang monitored the family’s movements, routines and the schools attended by the children as part of a wider surveillance and reconnaissance operation,” Mr Olayinka said.
The Police said investigators later uncovered extensive digital evidence showing that the suspects had taken photographs of the family’s vehicles, the school environment and other aspects of their daily lifestyle in preparation for the abduction.
According to the police, intelligence gathering commenced immediately after a distress report was received on the day of the abduction.
Acting on the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, a joint operation involving the Force Intelligence Department-Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT), the Oyo State Police Command and other tactical units was launched to track down the kidnappers and rescue the victims.
The breakthrough came after operatives arrested a suspect, Wale Abolalewa, popularly known as “Oloro”, who was already on the command’s watchlist for related criminal activities.
His arrest, police said, opened a pathway into the wider kidnapping network and led investigators to another key suspect, Dare Oyedele, also known as “Solution”.
Information obtained from the suspects, combined with intelligence analysis and surveillance operations, eventually enabled operatives to identify the gang’s hideout at Lado Community in Ayegun area of Ibadan.
Police said the rescue operation was launched on 6 June at about 7:30 p.m.
During the raid, one of the gang members identified as Kelechi, who travelled from Lagos State for the operation and was acting as a lookout, opened fire on the advancing operatives.
The officers responded, leading to a gun battle during which Kelechi and another unidentified gang member were killed.
Following the clearance of the hideout, Mrs Adegoke and her twin sons were rescued unharmed and placed in protective custody before being reunited with their family.
The command said the operation also led to the recovery of three pump-action rifles, 14 live cartridges, the Toyota Corolla allegedly used in the abduction, a battle axe, a hammer, face masks, suspected hard drugs and criminal charms.
Police added that efforts were ongoing to arrest other members of the syndicate believed to have escaped with gunshot wounds sustained during the operation.
The command urged hospitals, medical practitioners and traditional bone setters to report anyone presenting suspicious gunshot injuries, saying such information could help security agencies apprehend fleeing suspects.
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