The Oyo State Police Command has launched a coordinated rescue operation to secure the release of a farmer abducted by gunmen in Igbojaye community, Oyo State.

Commissioner of Police Abimbola Ayodeji Olugbenga ordered the immediate deployment of a joint rescue team comprising police operatives, personnel of the Amotekun Corps, local vigilantes and hunters following the abduction of Mr Mathew Owoade.

Police spokesperson, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, said Owoade was reported missing after he failed to return from his farm along the Igbojaye–Budo Aare Farm Road on Saturday.

According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the farmer left for his farm at about 4:00 p.m. but did not return home, prompting his family to organise a search. The search party later recovered his Bajaj motorcycle at the farm in the early hours of Sunday.

Ayanlade said the victim’s mobile phone was subsequently used to contact his family, with the caller informing them that Owoade had been abducted, leading to a formal report to the police.

The command clarified that, contrary to reports circulating on some media platforms, the victim was abducted on his farm and not within the premises of any school.

It urged residents to disregard misleading reports and rely only on official information, adding that its Anti-Kidnapping Squad and other tactical units had intensified operations in the surrounding forests to rescue the victim and apprehend the kidnappers.

Olugbenga reassured residents of the command’s commitment to tackling kidnapping and other violent crimes through sustained collaboration with other security agencies and community stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the command arrested a suspected criminal and recovered a locally fabricated pistol, one live cartridge and suspected illicit drugs during a stop-and-search operation in Bodija, Ibadan.

Ayanlade said officers attached to the Bodija Housing Police Division intercepted three men riding a Bajaj motorcycle along Osuntokun Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. on July 11.

During the operation, one of the suspects allegedly threw a bag into a nearby drainage while the two others fled on the motorcycle. The third suspect, identified as Hammed Lateef, was arrested.

Police recovered a locally made pistol, a live cartridge, sachets containing substances suspected to be Tramadol, and a passport photograph believed to belong to one of the fleeing suspects. Investigations are ongoing to apprehend the other suspects.

In a related development, the Yobe State Police Command arrested 14 suspects during coordinated raids on criminal hideouts and drug joints in Bade, Jakusko and Yusufari local councils.

Police spokesperson, SP Dungus Abdulkarim, said the operation, conducted on July 11 by personnel from several divisions in collaboration with the Peace Group Vigilante, targeted criminal hotspots, including Buduwa Market in Jakusko.

He said officers recovered more than 300 sachets and packages of suspected illicit drugs, including Tramadol, Vega tablets, Indian hemp and other prohibited substances.

Abdulkarim said investigations were ongoing and the suspects would be charged in court after the conclusion of investigations.

Commissioner of Police Usman Kanfani Jibrin directed area commanders and divisional police officers to intensify raids on criminal hideouts across the state, reiterating the command’s zero-tolerance policy against drug trafficking and substance abuse, which he described as major drivers of violent crime.