Six suspected informants and logistics providers of the network behind the abduction of pupils and teachers in Ahoro-Esiele, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have been arrested by security operatives in a major breakthrough in the ongoing investigation.
The six are believed to have provided the logistics, intelligence, financial channels, and local support that enabled the high-profile kidnapping.
However, available information indicates that the armed bandits who carried out the attack are still hiding in forest locations.
Among those arrested are Babangida Buhari Awalu and Kabiru Aliyu, who were apprehended in the Ojoo area of Ibadan while allegedly attempting to collect ransom proceeds.
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Investigators identified the duo as commercial motorcyclists who allegedly served as logistics providers, couriers and informants for the kidnappers.
Further investigations led operatives to Adewuyi Sunday, an indigene of Gbugbu area of Kwara State, along with one Ayanwole Gbenga and Rafiu Abdulmajeed from Gbugbu in Kwara State and Ago-Are in Oyo State respectively.
The trio were arrested during follow-up operations conducted across Oyo and Kwara states.
Authorities alleged that bank accounts linked to the three suspects were used to receive and distribute ransom payments on behalf of the kidnappers operating in forest hideouts.
The arrests followed intelligence operations that uncovered communications between members of the syndicate and local informants.
During the operation, security forces recovered N7.5 million in cash, four AK-47 rifles, 75 rounds of live ammunition, two military camouflage uniforms and a police beret.
A university student, Adeleye Ayomide, was also arrested after a handset belonging to one of the victims was found in his possession.
The email demands sent to the parents were reportedly traced directly to his device.
Further security findings confirmed that ransom payments and digital extortion funds linked to the tracking of Ayomide were routed through a Wema Bank account.
During Investigations, phone calls made during and after the raid of the schools were intercepted and conversations revealed how the local informants gave the bandits step by step directions to navigate the old Oyo National Park and evade military and security check points and borders.
Despite Nigeria’s NIN-SIM linkage policy, criminals and bandits have found a way to side track the system by using specialized call routing technology and portable network-masking devices to bounce calls across multiple remote call towers, making efforts to track their exact location and identity difficult to trace or track.Nigeria Travel Guides
The investigation has also expanded to the group’s financial operations, with the Central Bank of Nigeria and federal anti-graft agencies reportedly freezing and investigating accounts linked to the suspected ransom network.
Security sources said intelligence obtained from the arrested suspects is already being used to track down other gang members believed to be hiding in forest locations and to rescue victims still in captivity.
Eagle on line
