Police kill second suspected kidnapper, arrest 18-year-old in Ogun

The Ogun State Police Command, in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS), has killed another suspected kidnapper and arrested an 18-year-old suspect in connection with the abduction of 10 passengers at Orita Fufu, Awa-Ijebu.

The arrested suspect was identified as Abubakar Yinusa.

The latest operation, conducted on Sunday, brings the number of suspected kidnappers killed in the follow-up operations to two, while one suspect has been arrested and three AK-47 rifles recovered.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, disclosed this, saying operatives of the joint security team engaged the suspects in a gun battle during which one of them was killed and Yinusa apprehended.

He added that two AK-47 rifles were recovered during the operation.

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The 10 passengers were abducted last Tuesday while travelling from Edo State to Ibadan. Their bus was reportedly intercepted by gunmen at Orita Fufu, along the Ijebu-Ode-Ibadan Road.

One of the passengers escaped during the attack, while the kidnappers subsequently demanded a ransom of N20 million, which was later increased to N25 million.

The victims regained their freedom unharmed on Saturday after spending four days in captivity.

In an earlier follow-up operation conducted at about 1:00 a.m. on Sunday, police operatives killed another suspected member of the gang and recovered one AK-47 rifle, 20 rounds of ammunition, N1,376,800 in cash and a mobile phone.

The command said efforts were ongoing to track down and arrest other fleeing members of the gang.

It also urged residents to report anyone suspected of having gunshot wounds to the nearest police station to assist security agencies in their ongoing operations.