The Osun State Police Command has rescued a kidnapped victim unharmed, arrested two suspected kidnappers and recovered N2,217,800 believed to be ransom proceeds during intelligence-led operations across the state.
The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, disclosed this on Wednesday at the command headquarters in Osogbo while briefing journalists on recent efforts against kidnapping, cultism and ritual-related crimes.
The victim, 50-year-old Haruna Yusuf, a Fulani herdsman, according to Gotan, was abducted on July 9, 2026, from a settlement near Wasinmi Village along the Gbongan-Ife-Ibadan Road by four suspected kidnappers.
He said operatives, working with local vigilantes, launched a search before the case was transferred to the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU.
According to him, on July 12, operatives monitored the ransom payment at Majeroku along the Ibadan-Ife Expressway and engaged the suspects in a gun duel.
“The team successfully rescued the victim unhurt. The kidnappers, on sighting the operatives, opened fire, and the police responded professionally,” Gotan said.
He added that one suspect, Usman Aliyu, 40, was arrested with gunshot injuries and is receiving treatment at UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital.
The police commissioner also announced the arrest of three suspected cultists and ritual suspects in Iree.
The suspects are: Michael Oluwatobi, 23; Busayo Joseph, 22; and Abu Azeez, 23.
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