Our reporter/ The kidnapped wife of the murdered Olukoro of Koro in Ekiti local government area of Kwara State, Olori Iyabo Aremu, and one other person have been freed by their abductors.
The victims were released on Monday night and arrived in Koro town around 10:45 pm.
The state command public relations officer, Ejire-Adeyemi Toun, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, said the second abductee is the queen’s adopted daughter.
According Toun, the rescue efforts followed a joint operation by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), police, military, vigilante and local hunters.
He said security operatives combed the forest between Kwara and Ekiti States after the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered the deployment of a police chopper for aerial surveillance.
“A joint operation comprising the Police, Military, D.S.S, Vigilante/Hunters who tirelessly combed the forest yielded positive results. This operation led to the successful rescue of the wife to the late monarch and one other at about 22:3 hours of 05/02/24. The rescued kidnap victims have been reunited with their families, hale and hearty,” the statement read.
“In the course of the investigation, the Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D, NPM approved the deployment of a police chopper for aerial surveillance. This is to help comb the forest/boundary between Kwara and EKITI state.
Ejire-Adeyemi stated that the “operation also led to the arrest of 13 male suspects who are presently in custody.”
“These suspects are undergoing vigorous interrogation with a view towards aiding the arrest of members of the gang at large.”
The queen was kidnapped on February 1 when gunmen invaded the palace and killed the traditional ruler, a retired Army general.
Last weekend, the gunmen reached out to the monarch’s family for payment of N100m ransom, which has now been reduced to N40m for the release of the two captives.
It is however not clear if any ransom was paid before the victims regained their freedom as the police authorities were silent on tGhe matter.
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