The Kwara State Police Command has acknowledged that they received and then released six vigilante members who had been apprehended by the Nigerian Army in Edo State.
The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said in a statement yesterday that the vigilantes were arrested along the Auchi–Ikpeshi Road in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State in early December 2025. They were then turned over to the command on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
The statement says that troops stopped the suspects when they were driving a car that belonged to the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The police said that Brigadier General N. N. Rume, the Brigade Commander of the 22 Armoured Brigade at Sobi Barracks in Ilorin, formally handed over the six vigilante members to the Kwara State Police Command for investigation and profiling.
The statement claimed, “After a thorough investigation, it was found that the people are real members of a vigilante group that works with recognized security agencies to fight banditry and other types of crime.”
It further said that the vigilantes were not guilty of any crimes and were then set free to go back to their masters.
Ojo Adekimi, the state’s Commissioner of Police, said again that the command is committed to working together with other agencies and community-based security groups. He also advised vigilante groups to always stay inside the law.
The police told people in the state that they will keep working to keep lives and property safe across Kwara State.
The PUNCH reported earlier that on December 14, 2025, a 36-second viral video showed soldiers questioning a group of suspected bandits who were allegedly patrolling with AK-47 rifles in a local security patrol vehicle with the words “Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State” on it.
The video showed the suspects lying face down with their wrists tied while troops asked them questions about what they had done and where they had gotten the weapons that had been found.
One of the accused, who spoke Hausa and Nigerian Pidgin, said that the “Ilorin government” gave them the patrol car and firearms and that they had been pretending to be a security patrol.
“We’ve been here for a long time. We are utilizing the car to patrol. I swear to God, I’m telling you the truth. The Ilorin administration gave us this car and the guns. The suspect said, “They were the ones who gave us the rifles.”
The Kwara State Government also denied rumors that it had given the accused weapons.
Mrs. Bolanle Olukoju, the Commissioner for Communications, claimed in a statement on Sunday night that no security agency, not even the Nigerian Army, has arrested any armed bandits in Ifelodun or anywhere else in Kwara State.
“The Nigerian Army did not catch any armed bandits in Ifelodun.” “Olukoju said that no security agency ever reported such arrests in Kwara.”
She also denied rumors that the state government gave the suspects guns, saying that no state government has the right to provide out or sell AK-47 rifles.
About the Author
