The Kwara State Police Command has arrested two nationals of the Republic of Togo over their alleged involvement in a failed kidnapping and extortion plot targeting a resident of Okuta in Baruten Local Government Area.
The suspects, identified as Yakubu Ismaila and Hadiza Kosia, were apprehended following an intelligence-led operation launched after a resident, S. Ismaila, reported receiving threatening phone calls demanding a ransom of ₦22 million to stop an alleged plan to abduct him. The caller also threatened to kill the complainant’s younger brother, Musa Ismaila, if the demand was ignored.
Police spokesperson, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), working with technical support, tracked the suspects and recovered the mobile phone allegedly used to make the threatening calls.
According to the police, both suspects confessed during interrogation to their roles in the attempted kidnapping and extortion. The recovered phone has been taken into custody as a key exhibit while investigations continue to uncover other members of the suspected criminal network.
Kwara State Commissioner of Police, CP Ojo Adekimi, commended the officers involved in the operation, describing the swift response as a demonstration of the command’s commitment to intelligence-driven policing and crime prevention.
He assured residents that the command would sustain efforts to dismantle criminal networks and maintain security across the state.
