A wave of tension has swept through Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State after unknown gunmen abducted the Ojibara of Bayagan, Alhaji Kamilu Salami, on Saturday morning.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the monarch was seized around 9:30 a.m. while working on his farm. Multiple individuals close to the ruler confirmed the incident to LEADERSHIP on Saturday night.
According to community sources, the armed men stormed the farmland and whisked the monarch away. Alarm was raised when other farmers in the area could not locate Alhaji Salami and later discovered his motorcycle abandoned on the premises.
The discovery immediately triggered a frantic search by villagers, deepening fears that something had gone wrong.
A community source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the kidnapping was witnessed by a farmer from a neighbouring village. The eyewitness, who claimed he was hiding inside a guinea corn farm, reported seeing the abductors “forcing the Ojibara of Bayagan onto a motorcycle and speeding off to an unknown direction.”
As of the time of filing this report, the kidnappers had not contacted the monarch’s family or made any ransom demand.
“No demand for ransom has been made, heightening anxiety within the town. We are living in fear. Nobody knows what will happen next. The safety of our ruler and even the entire community is at stake,” a family source lamented.
Efforts to obtain confirmation or official comment from the Kwara State Police Command proved unsuccessful. Similarly, the Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Alhaji Femi Yusuf, did not respond to messages sent to his phone as of press time.
