Police foil kidnap plot, arrest two Togolese suspects in Kwara

By Imisioluwa Afunmiso

The Kwara State Police Command has foiled a planned kidnapping and extortion attempt, arresting two foreign nationals from the Republic of Togo over their alleged involvement in the crime.

The Command disclosed on Thursday that the suspects, identified as Yakubu Ismaila and Hadiza Kosia, were apprehended following an intelligence-led operation coordinated by operatives of the Okuta Police Division and the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, the operation was launched after a resident of Okuta, S. Ismaila, reported receiving a series of threatening telephone calls from an anonymous individual demanding a ransom of N22 million.

The caller allegedly threatened to abduct the complainant and kill his younger brother, Musa Ismaila, if the demand was not met.

The police said operatives immediately deployed intelligence-driven strategies and technical support to trace the source of the calls, leading to the arrest of the two suspects.

Preliminary investigations linked the suspects to the alleged kidnapping and extortion plot.

The Command added that the suspects confessed to their roles during interrogation, while a mobile phone allegedly used to make the threatening calls was recovered as an exhibit.

Commending the operatives for their swift response, the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command, CP Ojo Adekimi, said the timely intervention prevented what could have escalated into a major security incident.

He reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and vowed that all criminal elements operating within or seeking to infiltrate the state would be identified and brought to justice.

The Commissioner also disclosed that investigations had been expanded to track and arrest other members of the suspected criminal network.

The police urged residents to remain vigilant and continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies to strengthen efforts at maintaining peace and security across the state.