The joint security team engaging in bush combing in Ekiti State has rescued two kidnap victims, 35 years old man, Iorfa Solomon and 37 years old lady, Blessing Kingsley, inside the forest between Ekiti and Kogi states.
The team arrested a suspected kidnapper, Abubakar Kabiru, in the process.
Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, stated that investigation showed that the two victims were kidnapped at Aluta Bar, Ikoyi in Kogi State at about 9pm on June 4, 2026.
Abutu, in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday evening stated, “The Police operatives in collaboration with the military, Amotekun Corps and the local vigilantes, while on bush combing operations, discovered a den of kidnappers inside the forest between Irele-Ekiti in Ekiti State and Ogbe in Kogi State where two victims, Solomon and Kingsley, were held hostage.
“Upon sighting the operatives, the suspected kidnappers engaged them in a gun duel and in the process, one of the suspects was arrested while other members of the gang escaped. Meanwhile, the two victims were rescued unhurt.
“Investigation revealed that the two victims were kidnapped while on duty at Aluta Bar, Ikoyi in Kogi State on 4th June, 2026 at about 9pm.
“The victims narrated that the hoodlums numbering about eight, armed with guns, surrounded them at the bar, shot sporadically into the air and whisked the two of them away into the forest while other people at the bar managed to escape.
“During interrogation, the suspect, Kabiru, confessed to the commission of the crime. He identified the two people rescued as their victims while the victims also identified him as one of the hoodlums that kidnapped them.
“The suspect mentioned seven other members of his gang who are currently at large. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing members.
“The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Michael Falade, calls on everyone to be vigilant and security conscious, support and cooperate with the police and other security agencies in the fight against crimes and criminality in the state,” the PPRO stated.
