Police and Amotekun Storm Hotel to Nab Gang Behind Businessman’s Murder and ₦1.4m Ransom Collection

The long arm of the law has finally caught up with a notorious kidnapping syndicate that has been terrorizing the Ilu-Abo axis of Ondo State. On Friday, March 6, 2026, the State Police Command confirmed the arrest of four young suspects including a 15-year-old who are believed to be the masterminds behind a brutal January attack that left one man dead and a community in shock.

In a “State of Harmony” between the regular police and the Amotekun Corps, tactical teams acting on a tip-off stormed a hotel hideout behind Ado Garage in the state capital. The suspects Abdullahi Ismaila, Babanyara Japi, Babuga Abubakar, and Adama Usman were reportedly caught off-guard. Inside their room, officers recovered ₦1.4 million in cash, believed to be the “blood money” squeezed from the families of their victims.

The group’s alleged “reign of terror” peaked on January 26, when they ambushed school owner Mrs. Oladeinde Tomilola at her home. During the violent encounter, they shot and killed John Ofuduwa, an iron rod merchant who happened to be nearby. While Mrs. Tomilola was eventually released after her family paid a hefty sum, the scars of the attack remained until now.

Police spokesperson Abayomi Jimoh revealed that the suspects didn’t just confess; they were also identified face-to-face by the very woman they had kidnapped. “This is a major victory for the state’s security architecture,” Jimoh noted. “We are now peeling back the layers of their operations to see if they are connected to other disappearance cases in the Ogbese and Eleyowo areas.”

As the suspects remain in custody, the Ondo State Government has reiterated its warning to local collaborators, promising that there will be “no safe haven” for those who trade in human lives. For the family of the late Mr. Ofuduwa, this arrest offers a first, crucial step toward justice in the “Renewed Hope” era of security.