OGUN STATE — In a shocking revelation that has sent shockwaves through Ogun State, a bag used to deliver ransom money for a kidnapped victim has been discovered hidden deep inside the kitchen of a prominent community leader.
In a daring raid by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Ogun State Police Command, 67-year-old Abdullai Muhammadu—the Seriki Fulani and traditional leader of the Fulani community in Ijebu Ode—was taken into custody alongside his eldest son. The damning discovery links the community patriarch’s own household directly to a terrifying wave of abductions that has recently plagued the Ijebu axis.
While the Seriki vehemently denies personal involvement, the evidence found under his roof paints a highly disturbing picture of a family deeply entangled in the region’s kidnapping underworld.
The Ex-Con Son and the Bush Escape
According to high-level police sources, the intelligence-led sting operation was targeting the Seriki’s son, Bala Muhammadu. Bala is a known and convicted kidnapper who recently walked free after serving a five-year prison sentence.
Following Bala’s release, communities including Ijebu Ode, Imodi, Irewon, Iwode, and Okun Owa experienced a sudden and terrifying upsurge in abductions. Operatives led by SP Bamidele Shirtu traced the criminal web right back to the Seriki’s compound.
In a frantic scene during the police raid, young children in the compound allegedly acted as lookouts, tipping off Bala and two of his brothers. The wanted siblings abandoned the compound and fled into the surrounding bush before officers could slap the cuffs on them.
“After painstaking and intelligence-led investigation, one of the bags which was used in the payment of the ransom for one of the victims was recovered in the father’s kitchen,” a police source confirmed. “It is not only Bala who is into the business. There is also Ndaji and one other, and we are on their trail.”
“I Thought He Had Stopped”
Facing the explosive evidence found in his own home, the 67-year-old Seriki, who boasts four wives and thirty children, admitted to knowing about his son’s dark past but claimed ignorance of the current crime wave.
“I know that Bala was into kidnapping. He was arrested and sent to prison,” Muhammadu told reporters. “After he came back, I took him to the hospital, where he spent one month for treatment. I thought that he had turned a new leaf because he is now into farming and cattle rearing. I didn’t know that he is still into kidnapping… I don’t know anything about the bag that was found in my house.”
His eldest son, Bello, who was also swept up in the raid, echoed the defense: “If my father had known that Bala had returned to the crime, he would have killed him himself.”
Police Command Vows to Crush Syndicates
The Ogun State Police Command is not backing down. Spokesperson Oluseyi Babaseyi praised the tactical operations spearheaded by Commissioner of Police Bode Ojajuni and supported by IGP Olatunji Disu. The successful raid is being hailed as a massive blow to the criminal networks terrorizing the state.
As a community grapples with the realization that ransom money was allegedly flowing right into the kitchen of their leader, the manhunt for Bala and his brothers intensifies. Ogun State residents are now waiting to see just how deep this criminal enterprise runs—and who else might be shielding the masterminds.
Stay tuned to ABT NEWS (www.abtnews.net) for continuous updates on this breaking, explosive investigation. All Advertising enquiries should be sent to advertise@abtnews.net or +447918790290
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