Gunmen abduct Adesina’s daughters in Ibadan, demand N100m ransom

The Oyo State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of two daughters of the former Director of Sports in the defunct old Western Region, and Proprietor of the Subuola Memorial Nursery/Primary School, Ibadan, the late Chief Emiola Adesina.

The two sisters, Pastor Omobola Adepoju and Mrs Abiola Olukotun, were abducted from a farm in Ibadan on Monday.

The news of their abduction was made known in a short message to one of our correspondents on Tuesday by a retired permanent secretary and professor/directing member of staff of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, Plateau State, Tunji Olaopa.

According to the police, the community, where the victims were kidnapped, had been cordoned off by security agents in an effort to rescue them and arrest the abductors.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the command, Olugbenga Fadeyi, told one of our correspondents, “The women were kidnapped yesterday (Monday) on a farm in the Badeku area of Ibadan. The Commissioner of Police, Mr Shina Okukolu, has given an order to his men to bust the crime.

“As we speak, personnel of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, the Special Tactical Team, the Police Tactical Team, the Operation Puff Adder, the IGP Tactical Team and the Federal SARS have all been deployed in the area.

“They have cordoned off the area and are carrying out a massive manhunt for the kidnappers in order to secure the release of the victims. I spoke with the officer in charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad and he said policemen were combing the bush and the adjoining communities in an effort to secure the release of the victims.”

A close family source said on Tuesday that the funeral of Adesina held a week ago.

“Omobola came in from Atlanta, United States, and was with her sister on her farm at a location on the Ife Road in Ibadan when they were both kidnapped on Monday. The kidnappers have called the family to demand N100m,” the source stated.

When contacted, Abiola’s husband, Mr Kitolu Olukotun, said the abductors were six in number and alleged that three of them were Fulani herders, while the others were Yoruba.

He stated, “My wife and sister-in-law went to the farm in the afternoon on Monday. Suddenly, the kidnappers emerged from the bush. According to one of my boys on the farm, they were six in number.

“Three of them are Fulani, while the remaining three are Yoruba. One of them was carrying an AK-47 rifle, which he fired in the air. They shot at the tyre of a vehicle and also fired a shot at the driver of our customers.

“They ransacked the vehicle. After that, they marched my wife and sister-in-law through the bush path. When they called me, they demanded N100m. But, I told them that I didn’t have such money. I told them to accept N1m, which they rejected. They then refused to speak with me again. They have been threatening my wife. They insisted that they would not take anything less than N20m.”