Oyo State Police Command has rescued a five-year-old girl who was abducted from her residence in Ibadan and arrested three suspected members of a railway vandalism syndicate found with stolen rail tracks valued at about ₦200 million.
The Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the two incidents in separate statements issued on Tuesday in Ibadan.
According to the police, the rescued victim, identified as Fikayo Gbemiga, was abducted from her family’s residence at Iyana Offa in Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo.
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The command said operatives of its Anti-Kidnapping Squad deployed intelligence gathering, technological tools, and other investigative techniques that led to the arrest of two principal suspects.
“The suspects were arrested by the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, which deployed technological and other investigative tools to trace and identify them.
“The sustained operation culminated in the arrest of the principal suspects on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at about 10:30 pm at their hideout in the Mojoyin Molade area of Iwo Road, Ibadan,” the statement read.
Police said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects unlawfully gained access to the complainant’s residence, abducted the five-year-old girl, and demanded ₦10 million ransom for her release.
Acting on credible intelligence, operatives stormed the hideout and rescued the child unharmed at about 10:35 pm
Further investigation showed that the kidnappers had earlier collected ₦1 million ransom from the victim’s family in Gbongan, Osun, before their arrest.
The command said the suspects are cooperating with investigators, while efforts are ongoing to recover the ransom and arrest other members of the kidnapping syndicate still at large.
In a separate operation, the police arrested three suspected members of a railway vandalism syndicate and recovered stolen rail tracks estimated to be worth ₦200 million.
The suspects were intercepted at Gambari in the Orile-Igbon area of Oyo State on July 14, 2026, at about 1:45 pm, before the stolen materials could be transported to their final destination.
The suspects were identified as Waheed Ayinde (54), Muhammed Sani (27), and Hassan Ibrahim (22).
Recovered during the operation were vandalised railway tracks and a HOWO truck with registration number CAL 972 XA (Cross River State), allegedly used to transport the stolen items.
According to the police, preliminary investigations revealed that the rail tracks were illegally removed from Niger State and transported into Oyo State as part of a coordinated criminal operation, with Lagos serving as the intended final destination.
Investigators also established that each suspect played a specific role in the syndicate, including serving as the truck driver conveying the stolen rail tracks, coordinating the operation, and providing temporary storage for the materials in Ogbomoso before they were moved to Lagos.
The police said the suspects had made useful confessional statements and were assisting with investigations.
The command added that efforts were ongoing to arrest other members of the syndicate, recover additional exhibits linked to the operation, and conclude investigations ahead of prosecution.
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