IBADAN – The Oyo State Police Command has dismantled a kidnapping syndicate responsible for the abduction of Mrs Busayo Adelabu-JohnPaul, sister to former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu, and her two-year-old twin sons. A cache of weapons, charms, and an unregistered Toyota Corolla were seized during the operation.
Commissioner of Police Abimbola Olugbenga disclosed this at a news conference in Ibadan on Sunday, updating the public on the command’s latest offensive against criminal gangs.
The victims—Mrs Adelabu-JohnPaul, 42, and her twins, Peter and Paul—were abducted on June 3 at approximately 7:30 a.m. along Elewura Street, off Ring Road, Ibadan, while the mother was taking the children to school. Four armed men in an unregistered ash-coloured Toyota Corolla carried out the attack.
According to the CP, the raid occurred on Saturday, executed by operatives from the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT), the Oyo State Police Command, and other tactical units.
“Acting on directives from the Inspector-General of Police, we launched an immediate intelligence-led manhunt,” Mr Olugbenga said. “Surveillance and tracking led to the arrest of Wale Abolalewa, alias ‘Oloro’, a suspect already on our watchlist.”
Further interrogations uncovered Dare Oyedele, alias ‘Solution’, as a key operational link. Investigators also discovered the gang had attempted to recruit an insider within the victim’s household—a staff member named Segun—to monitor family movements and school routines.
Digital forensics revealed meticulous planning, including photographs of the victim’s vehicles, school environment, and daily lifestyle patterns, which helped operatives map the gang’s movements and locate their hideout in the Lado community, Ayegun, Ibadan.
At about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, operatives stormed the location. A gang member identified as ‘Kelechi’, who had travelled from Lagos to serve as a lookout, opened fire. Police neutralised Kelechi and another unidentified suspect in the ensuing gunfight.
The victims were rescued unhurt and reunited with their family. Four suspects were arrested: Wale Abolalewa (‘Oloro’), Dare Oyedele (‘Solution’), and alleged hideout facilitators Semiu Ishola, 39, and Adeyemi Ayobami, 35.
Recovered items include three pump-action guns, 14 live cartridges, the unregistered Toyota Corolla used in the abduction, criminal charms, a battle axe, a hammer, substances suspected to be hard drugs, and two face masks.
The CP urged medical practitioners, private hospitals, and traditional bone-setters to report anyone presenting suspicious gunshot wounds. He also called on landlords and community development associations to report unusual movements, noting that neighbours had failed to question the suspects’ strange activities despite the use of an unregistered vehicle over a prolonged period.
A local landlord, Moruf Orankan, said the property belonged to an absentee landlady who had never attended any residents’ association meetings since he moved into the community four years ago.
The CP assured Oyo residents of the command’s continued commitment to transparency, accountability, and relentless pursuit of criminals, in collaboration with the Inspector-General of Police and the state government.