The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga, has expressed concern over the failure of residents to report suspicious activities in a neighbourhood where kidnappers allegedly kept abducted victims, including the younger sister of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and her twin sons.
The police commissioner made the remarks on Sunday while leading journalists and security operatives to a residential building in Araromi Quarters, Ayegun North, Oluyole Local Government Area, where the victims were held before their rescue.
Busayo John-Paul and her twin sons were abducted on June 3 in Ibadan while she was taking the children to school. They were rescued on Saturday during a coordinated security operation.
Addressing journalists at the scene, Mr Olugbenga revealed that preliminary investigations indicated that the location had been used repeatedly by kidnappers as a hideout for abducted victims.
According to him, intelligence gathering and technical surveillance played a crucial role in tracking the victims to the compound and securing their release.
“After the incident on the third of this month, we deployed technical and intelligence resources and followed up on the information we received, which resulted in this operation. So it was purely through intelligence,” the commissioner said.
He lamented that despite the suspicious movement of victims and criminal elements in the area, residents failed to alert security agencies.
“They have been bringing abductees here. They bring them here, people see them, and sometimes even greet them as they arrive,” he said.
“When people see such things and fail to report them, it becomes difficult for security agencies to act promptly. If suspicious activities had been reported earlier, we would have taken necessary action before now.”
The police chief explained that the kidnappers deliberately moved victims from urban areas to the secluded location to conceal them while ransom negotiations and other criminal activities continued.
“They kidnap people from town and bring them here to hide them. They do not want anyone to know the whereabouts of their victims,” he said. “This house is located within a residential community, yet people saw them coming and going without reporting anything.”
Mr Olugbenga further disclosed that the rescued victims informed investigators that they could hear daily activities from neighbouring buildings while in captivity, underscoring how close the hideout was to other residents.
He urged members of the public to embrace community policing by promptly reporting unusual movements, suspicious tenants, and other security concerns to law enforcement agencies.
“If you see something, say something. Had residents reported these suspicious activities, perhaps we would have arrested the suspects much earlier,” he added.
The victims were rescued during an operation carried out by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT). Police authorities confirmed that two suspected kidnappers were killed during a gun battle with security operatives, while firearms were recovered from the suspects.
The abduction of Mrs John-Paul and her children had sparked widespread concern across Oyo State, prompting assurances from Governor Seyi Makinde that security agencies were working tirelessly to secure their freedom.
Although the victims have now been reunited with their family, the police said investigations are ongoing and efforts are being intensified to apprehend other members of the kidnapping syndicate who escaped during the rescue operation.
