Police arrest cattle rustlers, other criminals in Ekiti

The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested 17 suspects for cattle rustling, five for conspiracy and armed robbery, five for operating illegal baby factories, one for stealing, and five for maintaining criminal hideouts during recent raid operations. The Commissioner of Police, Joseph Eribo, disclosed that the operations also recovered 558 rustled cattle, seven stolen vehicles, […]

The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested 17 suspects for cattle rustling, five for conspiracy and armed robbery, five for operating illegal baby factories, one for stealing, and five for maintaining criminal hideouts during recent raid operations.

The Commissioner of Police, Joseph Eribo, disclosed that the operations also recovered 558 rustled cattle, seven stolen vehicles, 10 fabricated master keys, three vehicle plates, and large quantities of new clothes and provisions.

He provided the figures during a press briefing on Tuesday at the command headquarters along Old Iyin Road, Ado-Ekiti.

Eribo said a notorious cattle rustler and kidnapper, Ibrahim Abubakar, was arrested on January 21, 2026, following credible intelligence.

He said investigations revealed that Abubakar had been involved in rustling cattle across Ekiti, Kwara, and Kogi states and was on the wanted list in all three states.

The police also intercepted an ash-coloured Honda Element Jeep on January 19, driven by Ogekore Tiresimi Tosin.

During interrogation, he said Tosin confessed to burgling multiple shops in Erijiyan, Ilawe, Aramoko, Ilumoba, Ikole, and Oye-Ekiti, carting away numerous items.

He subsequently led police operatives to a criminal hideout in Egbe, Kogi State, where large quantities of clothes, soft drinks, food items, and other stolen goods were recovered.

Eribo affirmed that the Ekiti Police Command would continue its relentless efforts to clamp down on criminal elements and maintain law and order across the state, stressing the commitment to ensuring the safety of lives and property.