The kidnappers who abducted traditional ruler of Ilemeso-Ekiti, Oba David Oyewumi, have contacted the family, four days after the abduction and demanded N20 million ransom before he could regain freedom
The Obadu of Ilemeso Ekiti, was kidnapped on Thursday by six armed men at about 9 p.m. from his palace after firing into the air and whisked away at gun point to an unknown destination.
The gunmen had earlier scaled the fence of the palace located in Ilemeso, in Oye Local government Area of Ekiti State, border town to Isan Ekiti, the home town of Governor Kayode Fayemi, and thereafter gained access to the royal father;s bedroom to carry out the operations
A family source on Monday confirmed the kidnappers’ demand to journalists in Ado Ekiti, adding that the abductors called at about 7.03pm on Saturday demanding the sum of N20million.
“We have been contacted. They called us around 7.03 p.m. on Saturday and demanded that we pay a sum of N20 million for the king to be released. We are really worried by this demand. The family is taking further steps to ensure that Kabiyesi is released as soon as possible”, the source said
The police said they were on the trail of the kidnappers, but no news of arrest of the kidnappers, nor the rescue of the monarch had been heard from them.
The Ekiti State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, when contacted said the police and other security agencies were making frantic efforts to rescue the traditional ruler from captivity.
“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 also working on intelligence gathering we have at our disposal’, he said.
“The police want to work more to prevent this kind of crime and we are relying on information from the members of the public, because we work more on information we found to be veracious, Abutu stated.
“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”, he emphasised
