The Kwara State Police Command has confirmed the receipt and subsequent release of six vigilante members who were earlier arrested by personnel of the Nigerian Army in Edo State.

The command, in a statement on Tuesday by its Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the vigilantes, who were arrested along the Auchi–Ikpeshi Road in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State in early December 2025, were handed over to the command on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.

According to the statement, the suspects were travelling in a vehicle belonging to the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State when they were intercepted by soldiers.

The police said the six vigilante members were formally handed over to the Kwara State Police Command by the Brigade Commander, 22 Armoured Brigade, Sobi Barracks, Ilorin, Brigadier General N. N. Rume, for investigation and profiling.

“Following a thorough investigation, it was established that the individuals are legitimate members of a vigilante group operating in collaboration with recognised security agencies in the ongoing efforts to combat banditry and other forms of criminality,” the statement said.

It added that the vigilantes were exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing and were subsequently released to their respective leaders.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Ojo Adekimi, reiterated the command’s commitment to inter-agency collaboration and synergy with community-based security outfits while urging vigilante groups to always operate within the confines of the law.

The police assured residents of the state of their continued resolve to ensure the safety and security of lives and property across Kwara State.

PUNCH Metro had earlier reported, on December 14, 2025, a 36-second viral video showing soldiers interrogating a group of suspected bandits allegedly found patrolling with AK-47 rifles in a local security patrol vehicle bearing the inscription of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

In the video, the suspects were seen lying face down with their hands tied as soldiers questioned them about their activities and the source of the weapons recovered.

One of the suspects, speaking in Hausa and Nigerian Pidgin, claimed that the patrol vehicle and rifles were provided by the “Ilorin government,” alleging that they had been operating under the guise of a security patrol.

“We have been here for quite a while. We are using the vehicle for patrol. Wallahi, na the truth I dey tell you. The Ilorin government na him give us this motor and the weapons. They were the ones that gave us the rifles,” the suspect said.

PUNCH Metro also reported that the Kwara State Government dismissed reports that it had armed the suspects.

In a statement issued on Sunday night by the Commissioner for Communications, Mrs Bolanle Olukoju, the state said no security agency, including the Nigerian Army, carried out any arrest of armed bandits in Ifelodun or any part of Kwara State.

“The Nigerian Army did not arrest any armed bandits in any part of Ifelodun. No security agency ever reported such arrests in Kwara,” Olukoju said.

She also debunked insinuations that the state government armed the suspects, stressing that no state government has the power to issue or distribute AK-47 rifles. (PUNCH)

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