Ekiti Police Bust Two Armed Gangs in 48 Hours, Rescue Victims, One Officer Shot

By Joseph Sunday 

ADO-EKITI — Operatives of the Ekiti State Police Command has busted two separate armed robbery operations within 48 hours, rescuing two kidnap victims, arresting three suspects, and recovering stolen motorcycles, truck tyres and a firearm, according to two press releases issued on Tuesday, 30th June, 2026, by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Sunday Abutu. 

In the first incident, a gang of three armed men attacked a faulty petrol tanker along the Ikole–Oye Road at about 03:00hrs on Monday, 29th June, 2026. 

SP Abutu said the hoodlums robbed the driver and his motor boy of their mobile phones, abducted both men into a nearby bush and tied them to a tree, before returning to strip six tyres from the tanker.

The tyres were being conveyed in an ash-coloured Ford minibus towards Kogi State when operatives of the Safer Highway Patrol, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted the vehicle.

Two suspects, identified as Ezekiel Balogun and Usman Wada, both of Kabba in Kogi State, were arrested at the scene. A third suspect escaped and is still at large.

The arrested suspects led police operatives to the bush where the abducted driver and his motor boy were rescued unharmed, and all six stolen tyres were recovered. 

SP Abutu said the case has been transferred to the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit, VCRU, for discreet investigation.

In a separate operation a day earlier, a four-man armed gang invaded Ilokun community in Ado-Ekiti at about 02:00hrs on Sunday, 28th June, 2026.

According to the police statement, the robbers attacked two residents at gunpoint and carted away four mobile phones, two laptop computers, assorted jewellery, N8,000,000 cash, one Boxer Bajaj motorcycle and one TVS motorcycle.

Following the report, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS, in collaboration with personnel from Ijero Divisional Police Headquarters, trailed the suspects to a forest hideout along Ayegunle Road, Ilogbo-Ekiti.

SP Abutu said the hoodlums opened fire on sighting the police team, leading to a gun duel. The suspects later fled into the thick forest, abandoning exhibits at the scene.

A search recovered one locally made single-barrel gun, SIM cards removed from the victims’ phones, and the two stolen motorcycles.

One suspect, Abdusalam Olalekan Ibrahim, was arrested in the operation. Police say he confessed to involvement in the robbery and named four other gang members who are currently at large.

One police operative sustained a gunshot injury during the exchange and is receiving treatment in hospital.

The Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State Command, CP Falade Adegoroye Michael, commended the operatives for their bravery and professionalism, and directed intensive combing operations to apprehend all fleeing suspects and recover the remaining stolen items.

CP Adegoroye reassured residents of the Command’s unwavering commitment to protecting lives and property, and urged members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to aid the fight against crime across the state, SP Abutu added.