Dr. Ayodele Adetayo Ajayi, the former Provost of the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, Ogun State, has been reportedly abducted by gunmen believed to be kidnappers.
In a media briefing on Tuesday in Abeokuta, the Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, disclosed that both the police and other security personnel have been mobilised in response to the situation.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that the former provost, his wife, and driver were allegedly abducted on Tuesday evening in the Olodo area of Ikija village, situated along the Abeokuta-Ibadan road in Odeda Local Government Area of the state.
Ajayi’s wife was later released by the kidnappers, but both he and his driver remained in their custody.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a resident of the area informed newsmen that the attackers, emerged from the bush and targeted Ajayi and other motorists on the road.
He provided further details, recounting how the gunmen created chaos by firing shots sporadically, subsequently blocking the road and forcefully kidnapping the victims.
‘Just yesterday, the gunmen abducted five persons, but two out of them were later released,’ the source said.
‘Also, last month, three people were killed. Among those who were killed was a popular businessman who operated a big farm along the axis.’
‘The Olu of Odeda in Odeda town, Oba David Olorunisola was almost kidnapped this week while his driver was shot and is still receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Idiaba, Abeokuta.’
‘We need help, this is getting too much. Our people are no longer safe, we need the government’s intervention and security agencies to wake up to their responsibilities.’
‘We don’t know the identity of the man yet, we cannot say whether he was a former provost or not. But we can confirm that someone was kidnapped.’
‘We learnt that the victim and his wife were coming from a function. I think the wife of the man has a school and they were just returning from an event in the school when the gunmen struck.’
‘The gunmen took a lot of people initially, but they later released them and took the man, his wife and the driver.’
‘But police and other security operatives mounted pressure on the abductors which made them later release other people kidnapped, including the man’s wife, but the man and his driver were taken away.’
‘The police have recovered the vehicle of the man which was later abandoned by the abductors. We are on the trail of the abductors.’
Drawing attention to the alarming rise of abductions on the Olodo axis of the Abeokuta-Ibadan road, the source claimed that as many as five individuals had been kidnapped within the area over the course of the past week.