Some senior officials of the Kwara State Local Government Service Commission have been kidnapped by armed men along the Omu-Aran/Ilorin Road.
Among those abducted are Elizabeth Arinde, Head of the Legal Department for Oke-Ero Local Government, and the council’s Head of Personnel Management, whose identity has yet to be confirmed.
The abduction took place on Friday evening, April 25, 2025.
Sources reported late Saturday that the two officials were among seven individuals kidnapped at Corner Eleyin along the Omu-Aran/Ilorin Expressway while travelling back to Ilorin for the weekend.
The attack, which happened around 5:45 p.m., involved five armed men who ambushed two private vehicles and forced the passengers into the nearby bush.
The Kwara State Police Command confirmed the incident in a statement released on Saturday by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo.
In a statement titled ‘Security Update: Kidnap Incident in Isanlu Isin of Isin LGA’, Ejire-Adeyemi stated:
“The Kwara State Police Command confirms a kidnapping incident reported around 5:45 p.m. on Friday, April 25, 2025, at Eleyin village, near Isanlu-Isin. Armed assailants, numbering about five, blocked the highway, stopped two private vehicles, and abducted all occupants.”
She added that a coordinated operation involving the police, military, and local vigilantes led to the rescue of two victims, Ganiyu Ajayi and Kolawole Adeyemi.
Efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue the remaining five victims and to apprehend the criminals responsible.
The command has strengthened security operations in the region through extensive bush combing, strategic patrols, and intelligence-based actions to prevent further incidents.
Authorities urged the public to remain calm, vigilant, and cooperative by providing timely and reliable information to security agencies. Updates will be shared as developments occur.
Meanwhile, following the incident, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ilorin Branch issued a public notice regarding Arinde’s abduction.
Signed by the Branch Chairman, SMH Kosemani, the alert read:
“We regret to inform you that Barrister Elizabeth Arinde, Head of the Legal Department at Oke-Ero Local Government, Kwara State, has been kidnapped. Reports indicate she was abducted alongside the Director of Personnel Management on Friday, April 25, 2025, while travelling from Oke-Ero to Ilorin.”
It is also important to note that a similar kidnapping occurred on April 19, when gunmen attacked a Toyota Sienna vehicle along the Obbo-Aiyegunle/Osi Road in Ekiti Local Government Area.
In that incident, seven passengers travelling from Abuja to Offa were abducted, although three children among them were spared.
The oldest of the spared children reportedly informed Olumoh Express, the transport company where the victims had boarded, about the attack.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Ejire-Adeyemi, as of the latest updates, the abducted parents from that earlier incident had yet to be rescued.
