The Oyo State Police Command has disclosed that the criminal gang behind the abduction of Mrs. Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul — sister of Minister of Power Adelabu — and her 12-year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, had initially set their sights on an entirely different target: the family’s matriarch.
Police spokesman Ayanlade revealed that the kidnappers had carefully studied the family’s daily routines before striking, but shifted their plan after observing that a driver, not the mother herself, typically transported the children to school.
“Our initial plan was to kidnap the mother. However, they realised that it was the driver who usually takes them to school, and they changed their plan to go for the kids,” Ayanlade said.
In a cruel twist of fate, the gang chose to act on the very day Mrs. John-Paul personally drove her sons to school, inadvertently walking into the ambush that had been intended for her children.
“Unfortunately for them, that day it was the mother who drove them to school, and they swung into action,” the spokesman added.
The victims were eventually traced to a hideout at Ayegbule in Ibadan on June 6 at approximately 7:30 pm, following what authorities described as an intelligence-led operation. The rescue mission, however, was not without confrontation.
Upon the arrival of police operatives, a gang member identified as Kelechi — who had allegedly travelled from Lagos specifically to participate in the kidnapping — opened fire on the officers. The operatives responded with force, neutralising Kelechi and a second suspect who was providing covering fire.
“They opened fire on the operatives, and then the operatives professionally and with tactical precision neutralised him and the second, who was also there to give a covering fire for him,” Ayanlade said.
Weapons were recovered at the scene, and all three victims were rescued without injury.
With some suspects still at large, the police spokesman confirmed the manhunt was ongoing, revealing that six individuals in total carried out the abduction, though only four were present in the vehicle on the day of the incident.
“We are still on the trail of the rest of them that escaped. Of course, we realised that on the day this incident happened, four of them were in the vehicle. But there are six in number who carried out this,” he said.
When pressed on whether the kidnapping was politically motivated or carried out purely for ransom, Ayanlade declined to draw conclusions, stressing that investigations remain active.
“I would not want to preempt the investigation. The investigation is still ongoing. The suspects are in custody. They are undergoing investigation,” he said.
The spokesman issued a stern warning to anyone connected to the crime, stating: “Whosoever is sponsoring them, whosoever is responsible, whatsoever connections they have, whosoever is involved in this, they all will be arrested, and they will face the full wrath of the law.”
