A number of outlaws implicated in recent security breaches in the state’s Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas have been mass arrested as part of Kwara State’s ongoing battle against criminal elements.
According to a government House statement issued on Thursday, the new security crackdown in the area has resulted in the arrest of over 15 offenders, including Tambaya, an outlaw criminal.
The recent assault on vigilantes and security forces in Gada, Lafiagi, was mostly planned by Tambaya. In one run-in with the security forces, Tambaya and eight other people were taken into custody, while several of his gang members were killed.
The officer stated, “We recovered N11 million, which appears to be the proceeds of the crime, and we rescued two victims of their criminality during the operation.”
The state administration, along with the Office of the National Security Adviser, state security commanders, and local vigilantes, ordered the crackdowns on the criminals.
Recall that on Friday, July 11, 2025, or so, state commissioner of police Mr. Adekimi Ojo told reporters in Ilorin that the Command’s enhanced emphasis on tactical fieldwork and intelligence-led operations was helping to reduce insecurity throughout the state.
In a further development, three women were detained on June 25 at Babanla Motor Park on suspicion of importing weapons. In a passenger’s bag, the police found an AK-47 weapon and thirty-one rounds of ammunition.
Links to a kidnapping syndicate based in the Baba-Sango forest were discovered during interrogations. One woman acknowledged that she was headed to join her spouse, a notorious kidnapper who was hiding in the jungle. One of the four female suspects escaped and is now free.
The July 6 arrests of Suleiman Jamiu and Mumini Mohammed in Share were also concerning. The two were stopped late at night and found to be in possession of ₦11.3 million. According to the CP, Jamiu was connected to an abduction case in February 2025 in which a ransom of ₦20 million was demanded. Investigators think the money might have come from paying ransom.
Suspected kidnappers carried out fatal attacks in Oro on May 30 and June 1, raiding a cashew business and a residential neighborhood, murdering one person and kidnapping six others. Three males, including Mohammed Dende and Mohammed Olaiya Dende, have been taken into custody and charged with culpable homicide, conspiracy, and kidnapping.
In relation to the abduction of Abubakar Issa and Alhaji Abbass in Lafiagi, six additional suspects were taken into custody. Police and neighborhood vigilantes attacked Gbugbu in response to intelligence, captured the individuals, and retrieved two guns. The suspects admitted to being members of a network that operated between the Niger and Kwara states and was led by Tambaya, a wanted ringleader.
In a separate instance, a Buba Lawal was apprehended in Oko, Ifelodun LGA, carrying an AK-47 magazine that had eight rounds. The suspect is being profiled for additional investigation, according to police, and is connected to other abduction attempts.
Ojo promised to step up operations till every criminal hiding place is found. He claimed that these recoveries and arrests demonstrated that there is no area of Kwara that is safe for criminal activity. “We will keep up our efforts to dismantle their networks and prosecute all of our remaining accomplices.”
On July 4, while on patrol in Amoyo, officers discovered a locally manufactured double-barrel revolver after three young men ran away from an unfinished building. Currently under investigation is one of the suspects, Olamide, also known as “Bold,” a well-known drug dealer in the region.
The most audacious encounter was probably in Okuta, Baruten LGA, where local security groups and the police launched a counter-operation after a reported kidnapping case on June 22.
The victim was discovered abandoned in the bush, one suspect was neutralized, and another was taken into custody, according to the CP.
In addition to a red Golf car thought to have been used by the kidnappers, 13 rounds of ammunition and an AK-47 weapon were found. Idirisu Sariki, one of the detained suspects, has admitted to carrying out several kidnappings in the border area.
