Police arrest seven in connection with Oyo National Park killing
Seven suspected bandits have been arrested by the police in connection with the killing of five people at the Old Oyo National Park in the Oloka area of Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The suspects are Mohammed Dangi, Abubakar Abdullahi, Sheu Usman, Toro Malami, Usman Alhaji Ummaru, Laolo Muhammadu and Usman Alhaji Isah.
According to the police, the suspects were arrested in different parts of the state.
On January 6, bandits invaded the Old Oyo National Park office at about 9pm on motorcycles and launched a violent attack on forest rangers and other personnel.
The attack resulted in the death of five persons.
However, the police, in a statement released by the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, on Saturday, announced the arrest of the suspects.
The statement read in part, “The Oyo State Police Command wishes to inform the general public that the command has recorded a significant operational breakthrough with the arrest of seven members of a dreaded 10-man armed banditry gang, including the alleged mastermind and ringleader of the attack responsible for the brutal assault on forest rangers and operatives of the National Park.
“In response to this violent development, and upon receipt of the report of the attack, the Commissioner of Police, Femi Haruna, immediately directed the deployment of necessary operational assets to the affected area and ordered that the Command Monitoring Unit take over the investigation.
“This directive marked the commencement of an intensive, intelligence-driven operation, which led to the initial arrest of three suspects, followed by the subsequent arrest of four additional suspects. The suspects were apprehended at their various hideouts across different locations in the country through painstaking, intelligence-led investigations.
“During sustained interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime and provided detailed accounts of how 10 members of their armed banditry group, riding on five motorcycles, carried out the attack.
“Investigations further revealed that the primary intention of the assailants was to forcefully free members of their armed banditry syndicate who had earlier been arrested and were in the custody of forest guards for various criminal activities within the National Park and adjoining communities, which they successfully did during the attack.”
Osifeso added that the confessions and intelligence disclosures led to the arrest of four additional members of the syndicate on January 25, 2026.
He said operatives of the Command Monitoring Unit, in collaboration with other security agencies, were intensifying efforts to ensure that all remaining suspects were tracked down and brought to justice.
