After spending more than two weeks in detention, six vigilante members have regained their freedom from the Nigerian Army’s custody in Edo State
The Kwara State Police Command confirmed receiving and subsequently releasing the vigilantes after thoroughly profiling them and investigating their stories.
A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, said the vigilantes, who were arrested along the Auchi–Ikpeshi Road in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State in early December 2025, were handed over to the Command on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
According to the statement, the suspects were travelling in a vehicle belonging to the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State when they were intercepted by soldiers.
The statement said the six vigilante members were formally handed over to the Kwara State Police Command by the Brigade Commander, 22 Armoured Brigade, Sobi Barracks, Ilorin, Brigadier General N. N. Rume, for investigation and profiling.
It further said: “Following a thorough investigation, it was established that the individuals are legitimate members of a vigilante group operating in collaboration with recognised security agencies in the ongoing efforts to combat banditry and other forms of criminality.”
It added that the vigilantes were exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing and were subsequently released to their respective leaders.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, Ojo Adekimi, reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to inter-agency liaison and synergy with community-based security outfits, even as he urged vigilante groups to always operate within the confines of the law.
He assured residents of the State that the Command is determined to ensure the safety and security of lives and property across Kwara State.
Earlier reports published on December 14, 2025, had carried a 36-second viral video showing soldiers interrogating a group of suspected bandits allegedly found patrolling with AK-47 rifles in a local security patrol vehicle bearing the inscription of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
In the video, the suspects were seen lying face down with their hands tied as soldiers questioned them about their activities and the source of the weapons recovered.
One of the suspects, speaking in Hausa and Nigerian Pidgin, claimed that the patrol vehicle and rifles were provided by the “Ilorin government,” claiming that they were operating under official cover as a security patrol team.
“We have been here for quite a while. We are using the vehicle for patrol. Wallahi, na the truth I dey tell you. The Ilorin government na him give us this motor and the weapons. They were the ones that gave us the rifles,” he was heard saying.
However, with the Kwara State Government dismissing reports that it had armed the arrested individuals for any untoward mission, a statement issued on Sunday night by the Commissioner for Communications, Mrs Bolanle Olukoju, said no security agency, including the Nigerian Army, carried out any arrest of armed bandits in Ifelodun or any part of Kwara State.
She said: “The Nigerian Army did not arrest any armed bandits in any part of Ifelodun. No security agency ever reported such arrests in Kwara.”
This is as Olukoju further debunked insinuations that the State government armed the suspects, adding that no State government has the authority to issue or distribute AK-47 rifles to any group or individuals as alleged.
