How Kwara police nabbed child abuse, murder, kidnap suspects

A concerned resident’s decision to question a 12-year-old girl seen buying a substance from a chemist late at night has helped to expose an alleged case of domestic torture in Kwara State.

The exposure has led the police in Kwara State to arrest several suspects in separate investigations involving child abuse, murder, kidnapping, suspected ritual-related offences and motorcycle theft.

The arrests were disclosed to Arewa PUNCH by the Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, following reports from members of the public, intelligence gathering, investigations and collaboration with local hunters and vigilante groups across the different parts of the state.

One of the cases involved Misturah Babatunde, whose alleged ordeal came to light on September 30, 2026, when a resident of the Idigba area of Adewole, Ilorin, spotted her purchasing GV solution from a nearby chemist shop at about 9.26 pm.

According to the Commissioner, the resident became suspicious and questioned the girl on why she was outside at that late hour and purchasing the substance. The questions prompted the girl to disclose the alleged abuse.

Adekimi said the girl was beaten with an electrical wire and as such had her buttocks torn. She also had her buttocks burnt with a hot coal-pot after losing N100 while hawking soya beans, locally known as *beske*, for her stepmother.

“The girl disclosed that she had been beaten with an electrical wire and that her buttocks had been burnt with a hot coal-pot,” the police said.

The command identified the suspects involved in that particular case as Babatunde Mustapha, the girl’s biological father; Abdulrahman Aisat, her stepmother; and Bashirat Abdulfatai, their neighbour.

“The electrical wire used in the assault and the hot coal-pot reportedly used to inflict the burns were listed as exhibits in the case,” the police said.

According to our correspondent, the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department on October 9 and referred to the Anti-Human Trafficking, Women and Children Protection Unit for discreet investigation.

The command said the three suspects had been arraigned and remanded at the Oke-Kura Correctional Facility.

While the child abuse case was being investigated, another probe led police to two men allegedly caught digging graves at a cemetery in Omupo, Kwara State, months after community members discovered that buried bodies had been disturbed.

The police said the incident came to light in May 2026, when residents visited the cemetery to bury a deceased person and discovered that some graves had been exhumed and the heads of the bodies buried there were missing.

The CP said an investigation eventually led to the arrest of Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh at about 5 am on October 8 while they were allegedly digging graves at the cemetery.

“Following a painstaking, intelligence-led investigation, operatives arrested Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh at about 5:00 a.m. on October 8, 2026, while they were allegedly digging graves within the cemetery,” the commissioner said.

According to the command, the two suspects reportedly confessed during interrogation and identified a herbalist, Mukaila Bello, as the alleged buyer of the missing human heads.

The police listed the three men as suspects in the investigation but did not establish in the information provided whether Bello had also been arrested.

“Investigations are ongoing, and the suspects will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of the investigation,” the command stated.

In a separate case, police operatives arrested Kamalden Lukmon and AbdulGaniyu Ibrahim along Bakase Road in Alapa on October 8 and recovered two suspected human hands.

The command said preliminary interrogation indicated that the suspects intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals.

“During preliminary interrogation, the suspects stated that they intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals,” the police disclosed.

The suspects reportedly claimed that a vigilante member, identified as Abdulraf Apata, handed the body parts over to them.

“The allegation against Apata is being investigated to establish the facts and determine whether other individuals were involved,” the command said.

The police further pointed out that the two suspects were being held at the Violent Crimes Response Unit as investigators worked to establish the origin of the suspected human remains, identify the possible victim and determine the circumstances surrounding the death connected to the investigation.

Another investigation followed the discovery of the body of 65-year-old Alhaji Lawal Umar inside his tent at a Fulani camp in Agah Village, Moro Local Government Area, on October 6.

The police said Umar was found with multiple machete wounds, prompting officers from the area to visit the scene, document the incident and commence an investigation.

His body was subsequently released to his eldest son for burial in accordance with Islamic rites.

Following a tip-off, police arrested his 25-year-old son-in-law, Salihu Seidu, at Temidire Fulani Camp on October 9.

Preliminary findings indicated that Seidu allegedly travelled to the deceased’s camp on the night of the incident, entered the tent while other occupants were asleep, attacked Umar with a machete and fled.

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the killing, claiming that he believed the deceased was responsible for the death of his son about two weeks earlier,” the police said.

The command said a machete was listed as an exhibit and that investigators were working to establish whether other people participated in the alleged killing.

Seidu was expected to be arraigned upon the conclusion of the investigation.

Beyond the cases involving child abuse, suspected ritual-related offences and murder, the police announced arrests linked to kidnapping, ransom demands and attacks on members of local security groups.

One of the suspects was Abubakar Usman, also known as “Jaye”, who was arrested at Jebba Cattle Market on October 11 after sustained efforts to apprehend him finally became successful.

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The command linked Usman to reported kidnapping incidents in Oke-Ode and Oro-Ago, as well as the killing of some members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area.

Investigators also reportedly linked him to an incident in May 2025, at Labaka village, where four suspected kidnappers arrested by local vigilantes escaped after a group allegedly led by him arrived and fired gunshots into the air while the suspects were being interrogated.

The police further accused him of threatening to kidnap a prominent member of a cattle-rearing association and demanding N10m.

According to the command, Usman went into hiding after learning that information about his alleged activities had been exposed but he was eventually tracked down.

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to his involvement in the crimes under investigation and is assisting us with information to establish the full extent of his activities and identify other persons who may be connected to the cases,” the command stated.

The police said he will remain in custody and would be arraigned after the investigation.

In another case, a 25-year-old man, Saba Ismail, was arrested over an alleged telephone threat to kidnap a resident of Batakan, via Tsaragi, in Edu Local Government Area, unless the victim paid N10m.

The incident reportedly occurred on September 8, when the victim received a call from an unknown number demanding the ransom and directing him to deliver the money at a hideout in Iponrin, via Oke-Oyi, in Ilorin East Local Government Area.

The victim reported the threat to the police on September 10, and the case was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Squad in Ilorin on September 12.

The command said investigators traced the telephone number used to make the threat to Ismail, who allegedly confessed to the offence during interrogation.

The police said further investigations would determine whether other individuals were involved in the alleged threat and that the suspect would be arraigned after the investigation.

Another arrest involved Ahamdu Dahiru, a suspected kidnapper allegedly linked to a wanted kidnapping kingpin known as “Aro”.

The command said operatives received intelligence on October 10 that Dahiru had been sighted in Kannbi, Moro Local Government Area, and subsequently mobilised to the area with assistance from community members.

During interrogation, Dahiru reportedly confessed to leading four kidnapping operations in Eruku, Oke-Ode, Idofin and Babanla, during which large sums of money were allegedly collected.

The police said the suspect later led a joint team of operatives and Hausa members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria to a forest between Bani and Kaiama, where four AK-47 rifles allegedly used in the operations had reportedly been buried.

However, the firearms were no longer at the location when the team arrived.

According to the command, Dahiru claimed that his alleged accomplices, identified as Aminu, Sani, Yellow and Dogo, had moved the weapons to an unknown destination.

A bag containing suspected hard drugs, chains and a padlock believed to have been used to secure hostages was reportedly abandoned at the location.

The police said Dahiru remained in custody and was providing information to help investigators track down the fleeing suspects and recover the missing firearms.

In a related development, operatives arrested Umaru Ahmadu at Bode Saadu, in Moro Local Government Area, on October 12, over alleged links to the abduction of two people from a Fulani settlement in Okeya.

The arrest reportedly followed intelligence gathering and collaboration with members of the Fulani Miyetti Allah Vigilante.

The command said Ahmadu admitted belonging to a kidnapping gang alongside Mohammed Abubakar Chekare, 26, who was reportedly shot dead by security forces during an operation at Babasango.

Ahmadu allegedly identified other suspected members of the group, including Tukur of Kajaola, via Oke-Ode, and Ali of Madanla.

The police added that he disclosed that the gang had a pump-action rifle kept in Tukur’s custody, while efforts were ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects and recover the firearm.

The command further announced the arrest of three men suspected of belonging to a motorcycle theft syndicate allegedly operating around the Kosa–Bani axis of the state.

The suspects were identified as Mohamed Umar, 20; Aliyu Aliyu; and Babuga Umar, 30.

The police said the arrests followed intelligence received on October 10 about repeated motorcycle thefts in the area.

Working with local hunters and members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, officers arrested the suspects at Dankurumi Settlement, Kosa, via Bani, and recovered a red Bajaj motorcycle.

According to the command, the suspects confessed during interrogation to stealing the motorcycle from where it had been parked in the Daba area of Bani.

They also reportedly identified a man known as Hanaruwa as an alleged accomplice who helped sell stolen motorcycles.

The police said Hanaruwa remained at large and that efforts were ongoing to apprehend him and other suspected members of the syndicate.

In a separate operation, police personnel on routine patrol along the Afon axis arrested Musa Hussein, 30, over alleged links to kidnapping and other criminal activities in the Orile Igbon area of Oyo State.

The command said the arrest followed intelligence linking Hussein to the alleged crimes and that he was assisting the Violent Crimes Response Unit with investigations to identify and apprehend other suspected members of the group.

Cops said investigations into the various cases were ongoing, adding that suspects would be arraigned where allegations were established and the relevant investigations concluded.