Fresh details have emerged surrounding the abduction of school pupils and the killing of two teachers alongside an okada rider in Ahoro-Esiele, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, as security operatives uncovered alleged telephone communications between suspected informants and the kidnappers.
The Nigeria Police Force said investigations revealed that some suspects allegedly maintained contact with the abductors before, during and after the attack, providing information that aided the criminals’ movement through routes within the National Park to hidden locations believed to have served as safe havens.
The breakthrough reportedly led to the arrest of six suspects, who are currently in police custody and assisting investigators in unraveling the network behind the deadly operation.
Confirming the development on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, CSP Olayinka Ayanlade, disclosed that the suspects were apprehended during coordinated security raids carried out across different parts of the state.
According to him, preliminary findings indicated that the suspects allegedly acted as informants for the bandits responsible for the killings and abductions.
Ayanlade explained that investigators are analysing telephone conversations believed to have taken place between the suspects and the kidnappers as part of efforts to expose the full structure of the criminal syndicate.
He stated that some of the conversations allegedly contained discussions on how the abductors could move through the National Park without detection and reach locations used as hideouts after carrying out the attack.
The police spokesman added that the arrests were made through intelligence-driven joint operations involving the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, the Western Nigeria Security Network, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and Agro-Rangers.
He assured residents that security agencies were intensifying efforts to track down other fleeing members of the gang linked to the attack, stressing that all individuals connected to the crime would be identified and prosecuted.
The incident, which occurred last Friday, left two teachers and an okada rider dead while several school pupils were abducted, sparking outrage and fear among residents of affected communities and neighbouring areas in Oyo State.
