Man wearing hijab arrested over links to 3 kidnappings as police uncover 9-member kidnap gang

• Forest Guards arrested Aliyu Isiaka, who was reportedly wearing a hijab and carrying a bag of charms, in Ilorin on October 24, 2026.

• Police said two more suspects, Seriki and Jebrin, were arrested during a raid on a suspected kidnappers' camp the following day.

• Six gang members, including a suspected leader identified as Juli, reportedly remain at large as investigations continue.

A man wearing a hijab and carrying a bag of charms was arrested in Ilorin, Kwara State, before he told investigators he belonged to a nine-member kidnapping gang linked to three abductions, according to the police.

The suspect, identified as Aliyu Isiaka, was arrested by Forest Guards at Okolowo, Ilorin, at about 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, 2026.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, by the command's spokesperson, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, Isiaka was wearing female clothing and a hijab when the guards intercepted him. He was also carrying a polythene bag containing assorted charms.

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Ejire-Adeyemi said Isiaka confessed during interrogation that he was a member of a nine-person kidnapping gang and had participated in three kidnapping operations.

Following further investigation, police officers and Forest Guards raided a suspected kidnappers' camp on Sunday, October 25, arresting two more suspects identified as Seriki and Jebrin.

The arrests brought the number of suspects in custody to three, while six members of the gang remain at large, according to the police.

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The suspected gang leader, identified only as Juli, is among those still being sought. The police said he reportedly lives at Fulani Camp in Ga’a-Kpapa, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State.

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Isiaka told investigators that he joined the gang in August 2026. He reportedly identified Oloru, Alapa and Malete as locations where he had participated in kidnapping operations.

The police said the gang collected substantial ransom payments during the operations but did not disclose the amounts involved or identify the victims.

The police said investigations were ongoing and that the suspects would be arraigned in court after the process was concluded.

Kwara State Commissioner of Police Ojo Adekimi said the command would continue intelligence-led operations and work with other security agencies to tackle kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state.