The latest arrest came barely hours after the Department of State Services (DSS) detained a medical doctor alleged to be providing pharmaceutical supplies and critical medical treatment to armed groups operating across the Kwara–Niger forest corridors.
Security forces in Kwara State have confirmed the arrest of a kidnapping gang kingpin linked to arms trafficking, ransom proceeds and organised abductions.
The latest arrest came barely hours after the Department of State Services (DSS) detained a medical doctor alleged to be providing pharmaceutical supplies and critical medical treatment to armed groups operating across the Kwara–Niger forest corridors.
Confirming the development, the Kwara State Police Command said operatives acting on credible intelligence from residents of Oro-Ago community in Ifelodun Local Government Area arrested one Aliu Abubakar on Friday, December 3, at the Oro-Ago Motor Park.
Police sources disclosed that the suspect, who initially claimed he was travelling to visit a relative identified as Zarumi, drew suspicion due to inconsistencies in his statements.
Subsequent digital analysis of his mobile device allegedly revealed explicit visual evidence linking him to kidnapping operations.
Investigators reportedly uncovered photographs of the suspect wielding an AK-47 rifle and posing alongside three armed gang members identified as Buba, Auta, and Bello Smally.
Also recovered were images of Abubakar displaying large wads of cash believed to be ransom proceeds from multiple abduction-for-profit operations.
“He admitted to active involvement in kidnapping activities and confirmed that the money seen in the videos and photographs represented ransom collections shared within the syndicate,” a security source said.
Friday’s arrest follows another earlier security interception on the Gbugbu–Patigi axis, where a courier linked to the same network was arrested with 100 rounds of live ammunition allegedly intended for forest-based armed cells controlling ransom negotiations.
Security officials say the coordinated sweep has offered unprecedented insight into the financing, logistics, and medical support chain sustaining the state’s kidnapping industry.
“This is a major disruption to the ecosystem of violent crime operating quietly through rural communities,” one intelligence operative noted, describing the network as structured, well-funded, and supported by both logistics couriers and medical professionals.
Residents of Oro-Ago, who have endured years of night raids, ransom takings, and highway ambushes, have urged authorities to maintain momentum, warning that past arrests of high-profile kidnapping suspects often collapsed without prosecution or transparency.
The suspect is currently in police custody and said to be providing what investigators describe as “actionable and far-reaching intelligence” expected to lead to the arrest of arms merchants, financiers, and embedded collaborators across local communities.