Nigerian troops have made a significant interception in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, arresting a group of suspected bandits found patrolling in a local security vehicle and in possession of AK-47 rifles.
The arrest was captured in a viral video obtained by Sahara Reporters showing the detained men, who were prostrated on the ground with their hands tied, being interrogated by soldiers.
During the interrogation, one of the suspects, speaking in Hausa and Nigerian Pidgin, alleged that their patrol vehicle and AK-47 rifles were provided by the Kwara State government.
He alleged that they had been operating in the area under the guise of patrol duties for some time.
“We have been here for quite a while. We are using the vehicle for patrol. Wallahi, na the truth I dey tell you,” the suspect said in the video.
“Ilorin government na him give us this motor and the weapons. They were the ones that gave us the rifles.”
The suspect further insisted that the rifles were not privately owned but were collected by their superior, whom he referred to as “our oga,” implicating multiple individuals, including one “Oga Victor,” in the operation.
“We are not the ones that collected the rifles; it was our oga that collected them. I know because I was with them. We go patrol many times with them, including oga Victor. All of them are involved. The weapons are theirs,” he claimed.
In the video, other detainees, whose hands were tied, were heard repeatedly chanting religious phrases as the questioning continued.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Kwara State government nor the Nigerian Army has issued an official statement addressing the claims or the circumstances of the arrest.
This interception comes amid a worsening security crisis in the Kwara-Kogi border area, highlighted by a recent high-profile kidnapping case.
Just a week prior to the arrest, three young men returning from their mother’s burial in Agboro, Kwara State, were reportedly kidnapped by suspected terrorists along the Odo-Ogbe axis of Yagba East Local Government Area.
The victims were identified as Isanlu Bidemi (33), Olumide (30), and their 17-year-old cousin, Moses.
According to the source, the kidnappers initially demanded ₦10 million per person, excluding the fourth abductee. When the grieving family managed to raise ₦3 million, the offer was rejected
Family sources described the ordeal as a cruel double tragedy, noting that the abductors had intensified their threats and beatings of the captives.