By Duchess Ifeoluwa
Ondo State Police Command on Thursday announced it had foiled what could have been a deadly bomb attack targeting major public offices in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Nigerian Monitor gathered that the police succeeded in arresting six suspects and recovering materials suspected to be components for improvised explosive devices, during the operation.
The Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, disclosed this while parading the suspects, describing the operation as a major breakthrough in the Command’s ongoing efforts to combat violent crime and safeguard public infrastructure.
The development comes against the backdrop of rising security concerns in Ondo State, where communities across both urban and rural areas have in recent months grappled with incessant cases of kidnapping, killings and violent attacks.
Several parts of the state, particularly in Akure, Akoko, Owo and Ose axes, have witnessed repeated abductions of residents, attacks on farmers and travellers, as well as sporadic violent incidents that have heightened public anxiety and renewed calls for more robust security measures.
Lawal said the arrests were made on April 15, 2026, following credible and actionable intelligence on the activities of a suspected criminal syndicate operating across state lines.
He revealed that, the command, acting on the intelligence, deployed operatives strategically to a location in Akure, where the suspects were apprehended before they could execute the planned attack.
The police boss said a subsequent search of the scene and the suspects’ apartment led to the recovery of a cache of items, including 217 bottles, a bag of sugar, criminal charms, 17 mobile phones, ₦187,000 in cash, two HP laptops, eight slings, a knife, an external hard drive, identity cards, a National Identity Number card, and two motorcycles, among other exhibits.
According to the police, preliminary findings indicate that some of the recovered materials were intended for the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), while others may have been used to coordinate criminal operations.
The suspects were identified as Adekunle Prosper, 56; Ojo Olumide, 39; Tope Kolawole, 40; Ahmed Salihu, 40; Bolaji Adebowale, 46; and Gbadebo Abidemi, 43.
Lawal stated that further investigations revealed that the group had recently rented an apartment in the Oke-Odu area of Akure, which they allegedly used as an operational base.
He disclosed that police also recovered a document mapping out potential targets, suggesting that the planned attack was premeditated and coordinated.
Lawal noted that early findings point to the suspects’ involvement in assembling IEDs intended for deployment on government infrastructure, with indications that their activities may extend beyond Ondo State to other parts of the country.
He said the timely intervention of the police averted what could have resulted in significant loss of lives and widespread destruction of property.
The Command condemned the attempted attack and urged landlords and property managers to conduct thorough background checks on prospective tenants to prevent residential buildings from being used as hideouts for criminal activities, while reassuring residents of sustained efforts to curb the wave of insecurity across the state.
