Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
Gunmen have abducted the Eleda of Eda Ile, in Ekiti East Local government area of Ekiti State, Oba Benjamin Oso, making a third of such incidents in the recent time.
Different sources confirmed the incident to THISDAY, saying the gunmen whisked the traditional ruler away from his farm in the presence of his wife on Friday evening.
This monarch was abducted barely two months after the Obaadu of Ilemeso, Oba David Oyewumi suffered the same fate , in Oye Local Government Area, Ekiti State.
One of the sources, who spoke privately with THISDAY, disclosed that the monarch and his wife would have been kidnapped, but the monarch pleaded that his wife should not be abducted.
The source said the monarch and his wife went “to farm and were accosted by these gunmen. The two would have been kidnapped, but the monarch begged the bandits to free his wife, which they agreed with.”
The Commander of the Ekiti State Security Network (a.k.a Amotekun) Brig.-Gen. Joe Komolafe, confirmed the abduction.
Akomolafe said all the security outfits in Ekiti, including police, soldiers, Amotekun corps, local hunters and Vigilance groups, had started combing the forests searching for the monarch.
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Police Command has arrested 14 suspects in connection with the abduction of a Polytechnic student, Akiode Akinyemi.
The suspected syndicates were nabbed by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) for abducting the Crown Polytechnic, Odo-Ekiti student June 19 at about 10:00am.
In a statement by its Spokesman, Mr. Sunday Abutu, the command said the police got a report that the suspected kidnappers sneaked into the victim’s hostel, blindfolded him and whisked him away to an unknown destination.
He said: “After a while, the suspects, through phone calls, started demanding for ransom to be paid as the only condition for the release of Akiode Akinyemi.
“Consequently, N2.2m was paid as ransom by the victim’s family members into eight different Bank Accounts as provided by the suspects”.
Abutu said upon getting wind of the incident, the RRS Operatives swung into action and on 23rd June, 2021 at about 4am, arrested a total of 14 suspects in connection with the abduction, among whom were 10 students of the Polytechnic.
The arrested suspects were : Afolabi Olamide Lekan ‘m’, Peter Adeyemi ‘m’, Abiodun Oluwaseun ‘m’, Bamidele Emmanuel ‘m’, Adewumi Sola ‘m’, Adesuyi Adeyeye Olarewaju ‘m’, David Daniel ‘m’, Damilare Yusuf ‘m’, Olasile Hassan ‘m’, Jesse Obinna ‘m’, Mohanye Samuel ‘m’, Olugbade Timileyin ‘m’, Olamide Temilade ‘m’ and Blessing Omotuyi ‘m’.
