Seven suspected members of an armed bandit gang, including the alleged mastermind, have been arrested in connection with a deadly attack on the Old Oyo National Park.

The Oyo State Police Command confirmed this to newsmen.

The command said the arrests followed an intensive, intelligence-led operation after armed bandits attacked the park’s Oloka area in Orire Local Government Area on 6 January 2026, killing five people.

In a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, said the armed bandits reportedly arrived in large numbers on motorcycles, armed with sophisticated firearms, and launched a violent attack on forest rangers and other personnel at the Old Oyo National Park office.

It said, following the incident, the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Femi Haruna, ordered the immediate deployment of operational assets to the area and directed the Command Monitoring Unit to take over the investigation.

The police added that the assailants’ main goal had been to forcefully free members of their armed banditry syndicate who had earlier been arrested and were in the custody of forest guards for various criminal activities within the National Park and adjoining communities, which they successfully did during the attack.

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