Three suspects in connection with Wednesday’s kidnapping at the head quarter of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria ibadan, have been arrested and are in police custody
The incident which occurred on Wednesday afternoon prompted a swift joint response by operatives of the Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, local vigilante groups, and the Amotekun Corps.
In a release signed by the Oyo state Police Public Relations Officer DSP Olayinka Ayanlade says the security operatives engaged the suspected kidnappers and successfully rescued two male victims identified as representatives of the Ogun State chapter of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria.
The victims were reportedly abducted by armed men while at the CRIN nursery site to submit annual cocoa seedling collections for the 2026 planting season.
DSP Ayanlade explained that efforts are ongoing to rescue other victims as security operatives have intensified bush combing operations and sustained the pursuit of fleeing suspects.
Meanwhile, one of the rescued victims, a former chairman of the association whose name was withheld, recounted that they had just left the cocoa nursery section in their bus when they heard gunshots.
He said before the driver could reverse, the kidnappers surrounded the bus, ordered them to alight, and marched them into the bush.
The elderly man explained that after trekking for about forty minutes, the abductors noticed he was slowing them down and subsequently released him to return.
