By OLAJIDE IDOWU

Police in Osun have arrested five persons over the alleged kidnapping of two residents of Ora-Igbomina in Ifedayo Local Government Area of the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Osogbo.

Ojelabi said the police had also deployed more officers to comb the forest in the town in an effort to rescue the two men abducted by suspected gunmen on Sunday.

According to him, the five suspects were arrested in the forest.

“The five suspects were found by the police and local vigilantes during a search of the forest for the abducted persons.

“Ongoing investigations will reveal whether the suspects are part of the kidnapping ring,” he said.

Ojelabi noted that following a kidnapping incident in the town in December 2025, more police officers had been deployed to the area to ensure such incidents did not recur.

“After the first kidnapping in Ora-Igbomina, we deployed enough officers to the town to ensure that such an incident did not happen again.

“Unfortunately, on the day of the incident, our officers on patrol returned to their base at about 11:45 p.m. due to heavy rainfall that night.

“It was after the police team returned to their base that the gunmen abducted the victims a few minutes past midnight,” he said.

He added that the police and local vigilantes were still combing the forests to rescue the victims.

The PPRO appealed to residents of the town to always alert the police and other security agencies whenever they notice strange faces in the community.

NAN learnt that the two victims were kidnapped in the town at midnight on Sunday.

A retired Customs officer was similarly abducted by gunmen in the same town in December but was later rescued on Jan. 12 in Oro-Ago town, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara. (NAN)

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