The Kwara State Police Command has paraded 23 criminal suspects, including the suspected kidnapper of a magistrate in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Paul Odama, during the parade at the command headquarters, Ilorin, on Thursday, said the cooperation of the Fulani and local vigilante assisted the command in curbing the menace of kidnappers in various parts of the state.
The suspected kidnapper, Abubakar Shehu, aka Dogo, was said to be the leader of a gang which abducted Magistrate Jumoke Bamigboye, who was the wife of Col. Theophilus Bamigboye (retd), a former military administrator of Bauchi and Osun states.
The woman was abducted in January around the Eiyekorin area, Ilorin, but regained her freedom after the payment of an unspecified amount as ransom.
Others paraded with Dogo were Mohammed Aliyu (30), Yunusa Ahmadu (28), Malami Usman (27) and Dauda Amosa (28).
The police commissioner said, “Investigation into the case revealed that Abubakar Shehu, aka Dogo, and his gang were behind the kidnap of one Alhaji Madaki Shaibu at Ayegun Fulani camp in January 2023, where the son of the Alhaji was killed.
“It was also revealed that Dogo was part of the gang that kidnapped Magistrate Bamigboye also in January 2023.”
The police also paraded eight suspects — Habeeb Ayomide, Oni Obasanjo, Mohammed Abdulkareem, Ibrahim Apete, Ajao Musa, Ismail Ayomide, Adebayo Abdulateef and Yusuf Najeem — over ritual activities.
Items recovered from them included a local pot with concoctions, sponges, coronation satires and a smart phone.
“The anti-cultsm operatives rounded up the suspects with all the items recovered from them.
“They all confessed to be Internet fraudsters, but the command is investigating them for ritual activities. They would be charged at the conclusion of investigation,” the commissioner said.
