Five suspected kidnappers, comprising individuals from both Yoruba and Fulani backgrounds, were apprehended on Thursday evening after a fierce exchange of gunfire with a combined team of soldiers, local vigilantes, and hunters at Ero Dam in Odo Owa, spanning Oke-Ero and Ekiti local government areas of Kwara State.
According to reports, the arrests sparked anger among residents, who stormed the homes of the suspects and set their properties ablaze. Among the destroyed items were high-end vehicles, including a Prado SUV.
Sources revealed that the raid was based on credible intelligence, which led security operatives to the suspects’ hideout near Ero Dam. The suspects reportedly opened fire but were subdued and arrested.
It was further gathered that the Kwara State Government had deployed military personnel to assist in dismantling kidnappers’ enclaves in parts of Ekiti, resulting in additional arrests. Cash in both naira and dollars was allegedly recovered from the suspects, who had reportedly been terrorising the area before their capture.
The District Officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Iloffa, Felix Oguntifa, confirmed the operation in a statement titled “Update on Kidnapping Activities in Oke Ero” released in Ilorin on Friday.
He stated: “The suspected kidnappers were engaged in a gun duel with the combined forces of local vigilantes, hunters, and the Nigerian Army near Ero Dam in Oke Ero Local Government Area. Two suspects — Bunmi, a native of Odo Owa, and a Fulani man identified as Ramoni — were arrested.”
Oguntifa added that around 7:00 p.m. the same day, tension escalated when angry residents invaded a Fulani settlement, setting houses ablaze along with a Toyota Corolla reportedly owned by a Fulani man named Alhaji Idowu.
