The Oyo State government has demolished the building used as a hideout by kidnappers who abducted the sister of former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, Mrs. Busayo John-Paul, alongside her twin sons.
The government said the demolition was aimed at reinforcing the state’s zero-tolerance stance against criminality.
The demolition exercise was carried out by officials of the Ministry of Lands and Housing in collaboration with security agencies following intelligence reports that linked the structure to the criminal gang responsible for the abduction.
Mrs. John-Paul and her 12-year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, were abducted on June 3 along Elewura, Ring Road, Ibadan while taking her twin sons to school.
Their rescue was later secured through a coordinated operation by the Nigeria Police Force, which led to the neutralisation of two suspected kidnappers and the arrest of others.
Government officials said investigations conducted after the rescue operation identified the demolished structure as one of the locations where the victims were allegedly held during their captivity.
According to Mr Olugbenga, preliminary investigations revealed that suspected kidnappers had been using the property as a holding facility for abducted victims.
“There have been bringing abductees here. They bring them here, people see them, even people greet them welcome sometimes,” the commissioner told journalists during the visit.
He expressed concern that suspicious activities around the property allegedly went unreported by the residents despite its location within a residential neighbourhood.
The commissioner said victims rescued from the compound told investigators they could hear activities from neighbouring houses but were unable to leave the premises.
During the visit, he urged residents to promptly report suspicious movements and unusual activities to security agencies, stressing that community cooperation remained critical in preventing crimes.
The victims were recued on Saturday during an operation conducted by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT).
Police authorities said the rescue followed days of intelligence gathering, surveillance and tactical operations that enabled investigators to trace the kidnappers.
According to the Nigeria Police Force, two suspected kidnappers were killed during a confrontation with operatives, while firearms were recovered from the arrested suspects.
The Force disclosed that efforts were ongoing to arrest other members of the kidnapping syndicate believed to have escaped during the operation.
