OGUN STATE – The Nigeria Police Force has officially launched Operation Kósàyè, a joint security initiative involving the Ogun and Lagos State Police Commands to combat kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes along the border communities of both states.
The operation recorded an early success with the rescue of five kidnap victims less than 24 hours after they were abducted along the Ijebu-Ode-Benin Expressway on Friday.
During the rescue operation, four suspected kidnappers were neutralised in a gun battle with police operatives, while another member of the gang reportedly escaped with gunshot wounds.
Police also disclosed that four additional suspected kidnappers and 84 other criminal suspects were arrested in separate operations carried out across the Lagos-Ogun corridor.
Items recovered from the suspects include AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns, locally fabricated pistols, ammunition, mobile phones and other communication devices.
Speaking while parading the suspects at the Police Training College, Iperu-Remo, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Bode Ojajuni, said Operation Kósàyè—a Yoruba phrase meaning “there is no hiding place”—was initiated by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, to dismantle criminal hideouts and restore security across the affected areas.
According to him, the operation is specifically targeted at flushing out kidnappers, armed robbers and other violent criminal gangs operating in forests and border communities linking Ogun and Lagos states.
“Operation Kósàyè is designed to reclaim our forests, dismantle criminal camps and restore security across communities stretching from Kara and the Long Bridge through Sagamu, Ogere and Ijebu-Ode to adjoining border communities in Ikorodu and Epe,” Ojajuni said.
He added that security operatives had already cleared several identified crime flashpoints, demolished illegal shanties used as criminal hideouts and intensified surveillance across the affected corridors.
The police said the operation will continue with sustained intelligence-driven raids, coordinated patrols and inter-state collaboration to deny criminal elements safe havens and enhance the safety of residents and commuters.
