More details have emerged about the rescue of Mrs. Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul, younger sister of former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, and her 12-year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, after they spent about 84 harrowing hours in captivity.
The victims were rescued alive on Saturday night in a daring security operation around Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, following days of intense intelligence gathering and tactical pressure on the abductors.
Credible News can report that the kidnappers held the three victims inside a decrepit building at Aiyegun, about 15 kilometres from Elewura, the area where they were abducted while Mrs. John-Paul was driving her children to school. Both locations are within Oluyole Local Government Area, on the outskirts of Ibadan.
The late-night rescue mission, carried out at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, was led by a crack team of policemen from the Oyo State Command.
During the operation, two suspected kidnappers were killed in a gun battle, while two others were arrested. Security operatives also recovered two firearms from the suspects.
Confirming the development, Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Abimbola Olugbenga said the mission was strictly a police operation. “It was an exclusive police operation,” the CP said after personally coordinating the rescue effort until about 1 a.m. on Sunday.
Mrs. John-Paul and her twin sons were abducted at about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday while she was taking the children to school in Ibadan.
Sources said sustained intelligence gathering and mounting pressure on the kidnappers eventually forced the gang into a confrontation with security operatives, leading to the successful rescue of the victims.
Although the mother and her children were freed alive, security personnel have continued combing nearby areas in search of other members of the kidnapping syndicate. Some of the fleeing suspects are believed to have escaped with gunshot wounds.
CP Olugbenga further confirmed that immediately after the rescue, Mrs. John-Paul and her children were taken to the Iyaganku residence of Chief Adebayo Adelabu.
Earlier, Adelabu’s media aide, Femi Awogboro, had confirmed the abduction in a statement, saying the incident happened while Mrs. John-Paul was on her way to drop her children at school.
The statement described the incident as a deeply traumatic development for the family and identified Mrs. John-Paul, 43, as the youngest of the five children of Mrs. Olufunmilayo Aduke Adegoke Adelabu.
According to the statement, she had served meritoriously at both the Central Bank of Nigeria and First Bank Pension before her voluntary retirement last year.
The family had appealed for calm, urging the public to avoid speculation or spreading unverified information that could jeopardize rescue efforts, while expressing confidence in the capacity of security agencies to secure the victims’ safe release.
That hope was fulfilled on Saturday night when the security operation brought an end to the family’s ordeal after nearly four days in captivity.
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