Ogun Police Arrest 24 Suspects, Rescue Kidnap Victim in Sweep

Crime, Investigations, Ogun State, Public Safety

Ogun Police Tighten the Noose on Crime as 24 Suspects Are Arrested, Kidnap Victim Rescued in Statewide Sweep

In a week-long security sweep that reads like a warning shot to criminal gangs, Ogun police rescued an abducted victim, arrested 24 suspects and recovered firearms, stolen vehicles and other incriminating exhibits across the state.

Atlantic Post

August 2, 2026

3–5 minutes

Cultism Crackdown, Firearms Recovery, Kidnap Rescue, Ogun Police, Ogun Security, Operation KOSAYE

The Ogun State Police Command has once again underlined the scale of the criminal threat confronting the state — and the intensity of the police response — after announcing the arrest of 24 suspects, the rescue of an abducted victim and the recovery of firearms, ammunition, stolen vehicles, a motorcycle and other allegedly stolen property in intelligence-led operations carried out under Operation KOSAYE.

The command said the latest actions were spread across the state between 23 July and 31 July, a period that has seen the police move with unusual speed against kidnapping, cultism, burglary, armed robbery and vehicle theft.

Operation KOSAYE itself is not a casual police slogan. It is the joint security initiative launched by the Ogun and Lagos State Police Commands in late June, with the commissioners describing it as a deliberate push to deny criminals operating space in forest corridors, border communities and other hideouts.

At the launch in Iperu-Remo, CP Bode Ojajuni said the name means “there is no hiding place for criminals,” while the police said the operation had already produced arrests, rescues and weapons recoveries within days of beginning.

The most dramatic element in the latest update is the rescue of an abducted victim by officers attached to the Iperu Division. According to the command’s statement, the victim was rescued in less than 24 hours after a distress report was received on 27 July, with police acting alongside other security formations.

The command’s own wording is telling: the pressure mounted by the joint team forced the kidnappers to abandon the victim and flee. That speed matters, because in kidnapping cases every hour can shape whether families receive a living victim or a ransom demand that keeps rising by the minute.

What gives the operation added weight is that it was not limited to one rescue. The command said the wider crackdown spread through several divisions and targeted different criminal patterns at once. In Ibogun, 17 suspected cultists were reportedly arrested during an alleged initiation gathering, with a locally fabricated short gun and an axe recovered.

In another part of the state, detectives said they arrested a suspect over burglary and vandalism and recovered an industrial air conditioner and dismantled generator sets allegedly stolen from Goshen Estate, Obantoko.

Police also said a 27-year-old suspect was arrested in Ofada over allegations of rape and armed robbery after an alleged attack in which a female victim was forced into a bush at knifepoint and dispossessed of her phone, laptop and other valuables.

In separate incidents, the command said a Toyota Camry stolen from the Oke Itoku axis was recovered, a double-barrel gun and 10 live cartridges were picked up in Ajuwon after a report of violent assault, and two suspects were arrested when officers foiled an alleged invasion of a cattle ranch in Itori.

The police further said a 22-year-old suspect was arrested over the alleged murder of another man following a disagreement in Atan-Ijebu, while a suspected motorcycle thief was arrested in Owode-Egba and a stolen Bajaj motorcycle recovered after what the command described as the use of a master key.

Elsewhere, detectives at Agbado Division reportedly recovered two locally made pistols and a live cartridge abandoned on a perimeter fence after a tip-off from a resident.

Read together, the message from these raids is clear: Ogun police are trying to combine visibility patrols, informant-led arrests, forensic tracking and fast-response operations into one continuous pressure campaign.

That approach is consistent with what the command has said in recent weeks, particularly its emphasis on intelligence-led policing, community partnership and rapid pursuit of fleeing suspects.

It is also a reminder that the state’s criminal ecology remains diverse; from cult violence and rape allegations to burglary, vehicle theft, kidnapping and illegal firearms possession.

Commending the officers, CP Bode Ojajuni praised their “professionalism, vigilance, prompt response, and unwavering dedication to duty,” while urging residents to keep supplying credible information that can help police pre-empt attacks and track offenders.

That appeal is not mere routine policing language. In a state where highways, forest edges and peri-urban communities can quickly become escape routes for armed gangs, the police say community intelligence is now one of their sharpest weapons.

The larger security lesson is hard to miss: criminal groups are still probing Ogun’s communities, but the command is responding with a far more aggressive tempo than is usually visible in ordinary patrol policing.

The challenge now is whether the arrests will translate into stronger prosecutions, better conviction rates and sustained pressure that makes reoffending more difficult.

Until that happens, the war in Ogun will remain a contest between criminal adaptability and police endurance. That, more than any single parade of suspects, is the story Operation KOSAYE is trying to tell.