Police rescue Kwara monarch, two others from kidnappers’ den
By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin
The Kwara State Police Command says it has rescued the Onigbesi of Igbesi, Oba Moses Oyinloye Omotayo, and two other victims following a security operation around the Elerin/Ijomu-Oro axis of the state.
The victims were reportedly abducted in Igbesi on August 22, 2026, with the police saying their rescue followed a joint operation involving its personnel, military officers and vigilantes.
The rescue was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday in Ilorin by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire Adeyemi.
According to the statement, the operation began after the police received a report at about 10 a.m. at Oro Police Station that a vigilante member had sustained a gunshot wound to the hand while operating in the bush around Elerin/Ijomu-Oro.
Acting on the information, the office of the Divisional Police Officer of Oro Police Station led a combined team of police officers, military personnel and vigilantes to the area, where suspected kidnappers opened fire after sighting the advancing security team, resulting in an exchange of gunfire in which one suspect was neutralised while others fled.
The statement said the security team pursued the fleeing suspects and subsequently rescued the monarch and the two other victims, identified as Maryam Abubakar and Aisha Ilyasu, who were taken to a hospital for medical attention and are now safe.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Kwara, CP Ojo Adekimi, commended the security personnel involved in the operation and directed that efforts be intensified to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
The command urged residents to provide timely and credible information to security agencies, assuring the public that operations would continue across identified kidnapping flashpoints to prevent criminals from finding safe havens in the state.
