Operatives of the Kwara State Police Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit have arrested a suspected logistics supplier linked to bandit groups operating in the state’s forested enclaves. The arrest, announced Wednesday June 18, 2026, is part of UGP’Olatunji Disu’s intelligence-led strategy to dismantle criminal networks beyond just armed fighters.
Acting on credible intelligence and covert surveillance, VCRU operatives apprehended the suspect in Ilorin. Items recovered include a large quantity of assorted cigarette brands and other rations believed to be part of a supply chain servicing criminal elements in remote locations across Kwara, the Command said.
Preliminary investigation shows the suspect played a “strategic support role” within a broader network providing sustenance and assistance to bandits and allied groups. Police said the suspect is not believed to be an armed fighter but a key enabler of the group’s logistics.
Further evidence emerged from the suspect’s mobile device. Photographs recovered show him dressed in military camouflage and seated on a Bajaj motorcycle, strengthening police suspicions of direct association with criminal elements. Efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest other collaborators, according to the Command.
Kwara Commissioner of Police, CP Adekimi Ojo, said operations are now focused on “logistical structures, collaborators, informants, and suppliers” that sustain banditry. “The Command remains resolute in denying criminal groups the resources, freedom of movement, and support networks required to operate,” he stated through PPRO SP Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi.
The VCRU breakthrough comes as security agencies in the North-Central intensify pressure on bandit supply chains. Police urged residents to report suspicious movement of rations, fuel, and motorcycles in rural areas, and reassured that sustained operations would continue across Kwara’s forest belts.
