The Kwara State Police Command has arrested a physically challenged man, Joseph Adeoye, 52, and another suspect, Issa Fatai, 35, over the alleged illegal possession and attempted purchase of a locally made pistol.
The arrests were among several criminal cases presented by the state Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, during a press briefing in Ilorin on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
Ojo said police operatives intercepted Adeoye at a drinking spot around Ojatuntun Market during a surveillance operation and recovered a locally made, cut-to-size pistol from him.
Further investigations reportedly led to the arrest of Fatai, who was identified as the intended buyer of the firearm.
The commissioner said both suspects allegedly admitted their involvement in the transaction during interrogation, adding that investigations were ongoing.
He said the suspects remained in police custody and would be arraigned upon the conclusion of investigations.
Ojo said the arrests formed part of the command’s intensified efforts to combat illegal firearms possession, kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes across the state.
In a related development, the command arrested a wanted suspect, Abubakar Usman, also known as Jaye, over his alleged links to kidnapping incidents in Oke-Ode and Oro-Ago, as well as the killing of members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government Area.
“The suspect was arrested at Jebba Cattle Market on October 11 following sustained efforts by security operatives,” the commissioner said.
Ojo said investigations had also linked Usman to a May 2025 incident in Labaka village, where four suspected kidnappers arrested by local vigilantes reportedly escaped after a group allegedly led by him arrived and fired gunshots into the air.
The suspect was also accused of threatening to kidnap a prominent member of a cattle-rearing association and demanding a ransom of N10m.
According to the commissioner, Usman had confessed to his alleged involvement in the crimes under investigation and was assisting the police in identifying other persons connected to the incidents.
The command also arrested Ahamdu Dahiru, a suspected kidnapper allegedly linked to a wanted kidnapping kingpin known as Aro.
Ojo said Dahiru had confessed to leading four kidnapping operations in Eruku, Oke-Ode, Idofin and Babanla, during which large sums of money were collected from victims.
The suspect reportedly led police operatives and 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 been buried.
However, the firearms were no longer at the location, as Dahiru’s alleged accomplices, identified as Aminu, Sani, Yellow and Dogo, had reportedly moved them to an unknown destination.
A bag containing suspected hard drugs, chains and a padlock believed to have been used to restrain hostages was recovered at the location.
The police said Dahiru remained in custody and was providing information to assist efforts to arrest the fleeing suspects and recover the firearms.
In another case, two suspects, Kamalden Lukmon and AbdulGaniyu Ibrahim, were arrested along Bakase Road, Alapa, on October 8 following the recovery of two suspected human hands.
Ojo said preliminary interrogation indicated that the suspects allegedly intended to use the body parts for money-making rituals.
The suspects reportedly claimed that a vigilante member, identified as Abdulrauf Apata, had handed the body parts to them. The commissioner said the allegation was being investigated to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine whether other persons were involved.
The command also arrested three suspected motorcycle thieves, Mohamed Umar, 20; Aliyu Aliyu; and Babuga Umar, 30, at Dankurumi Settlement, Kosa, in an operation involving police operatives, local hunters and vigilantes.
A red Bajaj motorcycle allegedly stolen from the Daba area of Bani was recovered, while efforts were ongoing to arrest another suspected accomplice identified as Hanaruwa, Ojo said.
On child protection, the commissioner disclosed that three suspects, including the biological father and stepmother of a 12-year-old girl and their neighbour, had been arraigned over alleged cruelty and physical abuse of the child.
He said the incident came to light on September 30 after a concerned resident of the Idigba area of Adewole, Ilorin, questioned the girl after seeing her buying a solution from a chemist late at night.
According to Ojo, the child disclosed that she had been beaten with an electrical wire and burnt with a hot coal-pot over the loss of N100 while hawking soya beans for her stepmother.
The suspects were subsequently remanded at the Oke-Kura Correctional Centre, the police said.
The command further reported the arrest of Saba Ismail, 25, over an alleged N10m kidnapping threat against a resident of Batakan, via Tsaragi, in Edu Local Government Area.
Investigators reportedly traced the telephone number used to make the threat to Ismail, who allegedly confessed to the offence.
Other cases presented by the commissioner included the arrest of Umaru Ahmadu over an alleged kidnapping in Okeya, the arrest of Musa Hussein over suspected kidnapping activities, and the apprehension of three suspects in connection with an armed robbery at Gure Fulani Camp.
The police also arrested three suspects over the alleged exhumation of graves and removal of human heads at a cemetery in Omupo, Kwara State.
Ojo said investigations into the cemetery incident began after community members discovered in May 2026 that some graves had been disturbed and the heads of bodies buried there were missing.
He said two suspects, Abu Jimoh and Ayo Jimoh, were arrested on October 8 while allegedly digging graves at the cemetery. The suspects reportedly identified a herbalist, Mukaila Bello, as the alleged buyer of the missing body parts.
The commissioner urged residents to provide credible information to security agencies, stressing that public cooperation was crucial to preventing crime and bringing suspected offenders to justice.
He also commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for donating 25 brand-new Hilux vehicles to the police, saying the gesture would improve operational mobility, increase police visibility and strengthen responses to security threats across the state.
Ojo assured residents that the command would sustain intelligence-led operations, professional investigations and community engagement to protect lives and property.
He urged the media to report cases still under investigation accurately and responsibly, assuring the public that suspects would be treated in accordance with due process.