The Kwara State Police Command has officially declared three suspected kidnap kingpins wanted in connection with recent bloody attacks on communities in the state.

The State Police Commissioner, Adekimi Ojo, disclosed this to newsmen in his office in Ilorin on Wednesday. He identified the three kingpins as Chelsea, Auta, and Aro, whose arrest, he said, would "help tremendously to nip the issue of armed banditry in the bud" in the affected areas of Kwara South, Edu, and Patigi Local Government Areas of the state.

Adekimi further revealed that bandits were now on the run following the military onslaught along the Kwara-Kogi border axis, with a significant number already decimated in the operation to flush them out of their hideouts in the forests. He confirmed that other measures are also ongoing to completely wipe out banditry in the affected areas.

Extortionist Officers Arrested

In a separate update, the Police Commissioner announced that three police officers of the command, who were recently accused of extorting innocent citizens along Osi-Eruku highway in Ekiti local government area of the state, have been identified, arrested, and are now in detention.

Adekimi, vowed that the officers who were in the area on duty with a police Armoured Personnel Carrier, APC, may be demoted if found guilty of the offense they allegedly committed.

He reiterated the zero tolerance of the command for unprofessional conduct, warning of dire consequences for officers who breach their professional callings in accordance with the directives of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.