Ekiti monarch’s abductors demand N20m ransom, anxiety grips family

The family of the Obadu of Ilemeso Ekiti in the Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Oba David Oyewumi, and the people of the community are anxious to secure the release of the monarch from the den of kidnappers, where he has been since last Thursday.

Family sources, who said on Monday that the kidnappers contacted them on Saturday and demanded N20m before the monarch could be let off the hook, added that the family members were anxious to have him back in good condition.

The monarch was kidnapped last Thursday from his palace by six gunmen, who scaled the fence, shot indiscriminately, and ransacked the palace before they whisked Oba Oyewumi away.

One of the sources said, “The kidnappers contacted the family around 7pm on Saturday and demanded that we pay the sum of N20m for the king to be released. They called with Kabiyesi’s phone and the phone has been switched off since then.

“We are really worried by this demand. We are anxious to have Kabiyesi return here hale and hearty. The family is taking further steps to ensure that he is released as soon as possible.”

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Sunday Abutu, who said the police and other security agencies were making frantic efforts to rescue the monarch from captivity, stated, “We are taking all security measures to ensure that we rescue the Oba. We are not resting at all.

“We are working with other sister agencies in this regard and working on the intelligence gathering that we have at our disposal. The police want to work more to prevent this kind of crime and we are relying on information from members of the public, because we work more on information that we found to be credible.

“We appeal to members of the public to help us with information. Let them report any strange face or suspected person to the police. We assure you that the police will protect the identities of such informants.”

The Punch