IBADAN — In a swift, executive crackdown on violent crime, the Oyo State Government on Monday morning completely demolished a three-bedroom bungalow used as a operational operational base and hideout by a notorious kidnapping syndicate.
The structure, situated in the secluded Lako Community along the Aiyegun–Anaye Road axis of Ibadan, was identified by intelligence operatives as the location where Mrs. Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul—the younger sister of the former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu—and her 12-year-old twin sons were kept during their terrifying period of captivity.
[TIMELINE OF THE CHALLENGE KIDNAP CRISIS]
│
Wednesday, June 3 ► Abducted at Elewura, Ring Road during school run.
│
Weekend, June 6–7 ► Police launch raid; 2 suspects killed, victims saved.
│
Monday, June 8 (Morning) ► Oyo State Government bulldozes the Lako hideout.
The Abduction and High-Stakes Rescue
The security crisis began during the early morning rush hour on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Mrs. John-Paul, a 43-year-old former employee of the Central Bank of Nigeria who recently relocated back to Ibadan from the United States, was driving her twin sons, Peter and Paul, to school. At approximately 7:30 a.m., armed assailants intercepted her vehicle along the Elewura area near Ring Road/Challenge, forcefully taking the mother and her children.
The Oyo State Police Command, under the directive of the Commissioner of Police, immediately activated its tactical units and anti-kidnapping squads. Following a meticulous forensic analysis of the abandoned vehicle and localized digital intelligence, a joint security team tracked the syndicate to their stronghold.
Over the weekend, security forces launched a fierce assault on the gang’s location. The ensuing gun battle resulted in the neutralisation of two suspected kidnappers, the arrest of several others, and the safe, uninjured rescue of Mrs. John-Paul and her twin sons.
Flattening the Criminal Infrastructure
Following the extraction of the hostages, confessions from the surviving suspects confirmed that the newly built three-bedroom bungalow in Lako Community served as their principal holding cell. Acting on this intelligence, officials from the Oyo State Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, alongside the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, moved in with heavy machinery early Monday morning.
Escorted by a formidable detachment of armed police personnel to deter any local resistance, the state bulldozers tore through the concrete walls, reducing the property to rubble within hours.
Speaking to journalists at the dust-filled site, state enforcement officers emphasized that the administration is determined to make Oyo State completely uninhabitable for criminal elements. By pulling down the structure, the government sent a direct, unvarnished message to landlords and land speculators across the capital: property owners must thoroughly vet their tenants or risk losing their investments entirely to the state’s clearing machines.
