Gunmen abduct 32 travellers
Fidelis David in Akure
Four days after being declared missing, the mutilated body of a director in the Ondo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Mr. Gbenga Olofingboyegun, was discovered yesterday in Akure, the state capital.
This is just as gunmen suspected to be kidnappers abducted 32 travellers around Ifon in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.
THISDAY gathered that Olofingboyegun, who was the Director of the Department of Research and Statistics in TESCOM, was declared missing on Thursday after he left the office without telling anyone where he was going.
THISDAY also gathered that family and friends had suspected that he was a kidnapped victim and were waiting for the call from his supposed abductors for a ransom payment.
Efforts to trace him were fruitless until his decomposing body was found in Saint Theresa Primary School beside Saint Peter’s Unity School in Akure.
A family source, who preferred anonymity, said he was still in the office dress of suit and tie that he wore to the office when his decomposing body was found.
According to him, Olofingboyegun’s head was cut off and taken away, while his stomach was opened by the suspected assailants.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mrs. Funmilayo Odunlami Omisanya, confirmed the development but said she was not sure about the identity of the decomposing body.
She said: “We received an intelligence report about a decomposing body at the school, when we got there, the victims head was cut off while his stomach was opened by the suspected assailants. Investigation had commenced and the perpetrators will be arrested in no distance time,” the PPRO said.
Meanwhile, the 32 kidnapped victims were said to be returning from a burial ceremony in Edo State on Saturday when the incident happened.
It is not yet established whether the kidnappers have reached out to the families of the victims for payment of ransom to secure their release.
The Public Relations Officer of Ondo Police SP Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the abduction to Channels Television in a telephone chat.
Odunlami, however disclosed that one of the victims has been rescued and is now giving the police useful information regarding the incident, in a bid to rescue other victims.
