Kidnappers demanded N53 million as ransom before the release of three victims in their captivity, which include a Reverend father S.B Oladunni Chairman of ECWA Ignaja DCC, the wife of the Head of a family and another person who were all kidnapped at the weekend in Agbeku community of Ifelodun Local Government in Kwara state.

Meanwhile, three more suspects have been arrested by the police over last weekend's kidnap incident.

The traditional ruler of Agbekuland, Oba Abdulazeez Shola Agboola, who confirmed the ransoms placed on the three victims by the kidnappers in a telephone interview with journalists on Monday said the police investigation was ongoing to get to the root of the kidnap saga in the community.

According to the monarch, “While an N20m ransom was placed on the Reverend's father by the kidnappers, N30m ransom was placed on the woman and N3m on the third person”.

Vanguard reliably gathered that the three suspects were arrested on Sunday as a discreet police investigation continued into the spate of kidnap incidents in some communities in the Kwara South Senatorial District of the state.

They were reportedly kept in custody at the Igbaja Divisional Police Headquarters.

In a related development, two victims of the kidnap incident which occurred at Ora town still in Ifelodun local government of the state two weeks ago, were released on Monday morning according to credible sources.

Efforts to reach the police authorities on Monday proved abortive.

The Kwara state police command had at the weekend arrested seven other suspected kidnappers in the Kwara South Senatorial District of the state.

According to the State Police Commissioner, Victor Olaiya, the arrest of the suspects was a sequel to the disturbing incidents of kidnapping in some parts of Kwara South, especially in Ora, Oke-Ode and other areas in Ifelodun Local Government Area.

He said the command, after due consultation resulting from highly potent intelligence gathered, led to the formation of a powerful team comprising men drawn from the Counter Terrorism Unit, Anti-Robbery, Anti-Kidnapping, Anti-Cultism, Anti-Nacotic, Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD), Police Mobile Force (PMF), and Police Medical.

Olaiya said the team was handed a distinct directive to comb the bushes and forests in the identified areas, arrest criminals found, recover arms and ammunition, rescue victims and clear the bushes of criminal elements.

“The operation began on 1/11/2023 with a positive outcome recorded. Some of the successes were the arrest of Seven suspected kidnappers named, UMARU MOHAMMODU A. K. A. YELLOW 'M', MOHAMMODU MOHAMMODU A. K. A. KERIMI 'M', GARUBA ABUBAKAR 'M', ILIASU USMAN 'M', IBRAHEEM ABUBAKAR 'M', USMAN HARUNA 'M' AND UMARU BELLO 'M' (INFORMANT).

“A cash sum of #1, 736,000.00 was recovered during a search of their hideout,” he added.

Meanwhile, the seven suspects arrested in the operation and named above have been arraigned in court and are presently remanded in Prison custody. Vigorous efforts are on to apprehend the perpetrators of this recent unfortunate incident.