Security Forces Arrest Suspects in Forests, Hours after Abduction of Ekiti School Pupils and Teachers

Security operatives combing forests in Ekiti State have arrested five suspected kidnappers, hours after the renewed surge of kidnapping in the state.

Two monarchs were killed by gunmen who ambushed their vehicles on Monday, while six primary school pupils and three of their teachers were abducted hours after in the state.

A joint team of security operatives from the police, soldiers, Amotekun Corps, and local hunters arrested the five suspects named Mohammed Bande, Abubakar Aliyu, and Suleiman Abdullahi.

They were arrested by the security forces while combing forests through Oke Osun, Ikere, and Igbo Okah to the thick forests on the state border at Iju-Ikere.

Spokesman of the state police command, Sunday Abutu said they were arrested in forests with two motorcycles, a cutlass, one jack knife, and four mobile phones.

Abutu said the suspects claimed to be herders but had no cattle in the forests.

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Gunmen in southwestern Ekiti State shot the bus’s tires and took the children captive on their way home from school on Monday afternoon, co-founder Gabriel Adesanya told AFP.

Adesanya said the students, ages eight to fourteen, as well as the bus driver, conductor, and two teachers, were still missing.

The police said that the suspected kidnappers were arrested in a joint operation involving the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Amotekun Corps, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), and local hunters.

However, it is still unclear if they participated in the Monday kidnapping.

The items recovered from the suspects during their apprehension were two motorcycles, a cutlass, a jack knife/dagger, and four mobile phones. These items are believed to be connected to their alleged criminal activities.