OPERATIVES of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Ondo State have foiled a suspected bomb plot in Akure and arrested 16 persons linked to various criminal activities in the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Adebowale Lawal, disclosed this on Thursday while addressing journalists, noting that six of the suspects were involved in plans to attack government facilities in the state capital.
“The command recorded a major operational breakthrough with the successful foiling of a planned bomb attack in Akure. The operation led to the arrest of six suspects and the recovery of materials suspected to be components for the fabrication of improvised explosive devices, alongside several other incriminating items on April 15, 2026,” the commissioner said.
Lawal who identified some of the suspects as Adekunle Prosper, 56; Ojo Olumide, 39; Tope Kolawole, 40; Ahmed Salihu, 40; Bolaji Adebowale, 46; and Gbadebo Abidemi, 43, said the arrests followed credible intelligence about a criminal syndicate operating across state lines.
“Acting on the intelligence, operatives were deployed to the identified location, where the suspects were apprehended before they could execute their plan. A search of the scene and subsequent operation at their apartment led to the recovery of several items,” he added.
The Police Commissioner said that during the operation on April 15, officers recovered materials believed to be components for improvised explosive devices, along with other incriminating items which included 217 bottles, a bag of sugar, suspected charms, 17 mobile phones, ₦187,000 in cash, two HP laptops, eight slings, a knife, an external hard drive, identity cards including a National Identity Number card, and two motorcycles.
He added that the suspects had recently rented an apartment in the Oke-Odu area of Akure, which they used as their operational base.
According to him, further findings revealed the recovery of a document outlining potential targets, suggesting the plan was both coordinated and premeditated. The police chief said their timely intervention prevented what could have led to significant loss of lives and widespread destruction.
He said that the remaining 10 suspects were arrested separately for alleged involvement in cult-related activities across the state.
The arrest came the same day The ICIR reported that terrorists were staging increasingly audacious incursions into the South-West, turning Ondo State into another testbed for their pernicious operations.
Documenting the rate of killings and abductions in the state, The ICIR shared a timeline of the rise of terrorist activities in Akure and Owo LGAs in recent years.
Surprisingly, the spokesperson of the Ondo State Police Command, Ayanlade Olushola, had denied the existence of terrorists in the state, while several stakeholders and leaders, including the Commander, Ondo State Security Network Agency, Adetunji Adeleye, and the former secretary to the Government of the Federation and monarch of Ilu-Abo community in Akure North LGA, Olu Falae, accused herders and their local collaborators of perpetrating the crimes.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.