A suspected kidnap gang leader, Umaru Usman, has admitted that he and his accomplices abducted two seven-year-old boys after failing to find their intended target during a late-night raid in Ebinpejo Village, via Lanlate, in Ibarapa East Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Usman made the disclosure while speaking with *Saturday Tribune* after his arrest by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the Amotekun Corps, local vigilantes and hunters.
According to police, Usman, alongside Mohammed Ibrahim Shina and Abdullahi Ahmed, allegedly planned to kidnap a cattle owner, Alhaji Idris, for ransom. However, after discovering Idris was away from home on the night of the operation, the suspects allegedly abducted his seven-year-old son and his younger brother's son instead.
"We went to the targeted house but didn't meet the fathers at home. Abdullahi brought out two children, and we took them into the bush. We walked for hours until daybreak. We had not fed them or demanded ransom before security operatives found us," Usman said.
He said the gang had armed themselves with a gun, cutlass and sticks before carrying out the operation.
The Oyo State Police Command said the children were rescued less than 12 hours after the abduction following an intensive search ordered by the Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Ayodeji Abimbola.
Police spokesperson, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, said operatives from the Lanlate Division, working with Amotekun personnel, hunters and local vigilantes, tracked the suspects to their hideout in a forest.
"On sighting the advancing security team, the hoodlums opened fire, resulting in a gun duel. The operatives responded professionally, overpowering the criminals and forcing them to flee in different directions," Ayanlade said.
He said three suspects sustained gunshot wounds while attempting to escape and were arrested, while three mobile phones were recovered during the operation. Police also arrested Idowu Sunday for allegedly providing the firearm used by the gang.
The rescued children, one of whom sustained injuries during the ordeal, were treated in hospital before being reunited with their families.
Usman also spoke about the death of his sister-in-law, an incident that allegedly forced him to flee from Maya in Oyo State to Ilorin in Kwara State before returning to execute the kidnap plot.
"She held my leg as I was leaving. I kicked her, she fell and later died. That was why I ran away to Ilorin," he claimed.
Police investigations indicate that after relocating to Ilorin, Usman allegedly recruited Shina for the planned abduction before both men returned to Oyo State, where Abdullahi Ahmed joined the operation and Sunday allegedly supplied the firearm.
Shina admitted travelling from Ilorin to participate in the operation but claimed he initially rejected the proposal.
"He told me he wanted us to kidnap Mallam Idris. I had never been involved in such a crime, but he kept persuading me until I agreed to return with him," he said.
Abdullahi also admitted taking part in the operation but said he later abandoned the group inside the forest.
"I told them I could not continue and left. On my way out, hunters saw me with the gun and shot at me," he said.
Sunday denied knowing the firearm would be used for kidnapping.
"I believed the gun was no longer functioning. I did not know it would be used for a crime," he said.
The two rescued boys said they were woken from sleep and forced to walk barefoot into the forest.
"They made us walk into the bush and later told us to lie down and sleep. They did not beat us, but they did not give us food until we were rescued," the children said.
Speaking after the children's rescue, Idris said he did not know he was the intended target until he heard the suspect's confession.
"I did not know I was their target until I heard the suspect during interrogation. I am grateful my children were rescued safely," he said.
The Oyo State Police Command said investigations into the case are ongoing.
