The Kwara State Police Command paraded 28 offenders on Thursday, including suspected kidnapping gang members, armed robbers, and cultists.
The State’s Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, who paraded the suspects at the Command headquarters in Ilorin, the state capital, stated that 78 suspected kidnappers captured between October 2023 and the present were already in various correctional facilities across the state with outstanding cases.
He stated that 18 suspected kidnappers were among the 28 convicts exhibited on Thursday.
“We’re worried and that’s why we have been taking steps to ensure we keep them there. Some of the kingpins even have larger than life attitude that nothing can happen to them and that they’ll be released when arrested. People are afraid. However, those arrested have never come back. People are jubilating with their arrest at such places as Oke Ode axis etc,” the CP said.
CP Olaiya, who said that technicalities in prosecution of criminal suspects is one of the challenges that make conviction slow and difficult, added that victims of violent crimes like armed robbery and kidnapping do not always come to court to give evidence.
“Some cases may take two or more years to be wrapped up and the victims that want to give evidence in court may become afraid of being harmed when he/she sees suspects or members of the gang in court,” he said.
The Police Commissioner said that he felt the concern of members of the public, adding that the command was putting heads together with the judiciary to get speedy conviction of criminals.
Olaiya, however, said that the crime rate was dwindling in the state, assuring members of the general public that the police command was ready to serve to the best of its ability.
He warned criminal elements to steer clear of the state, adding that the command was determined to make the state safe for law-abiding citizens and unsuitable for criminal elements.