Suspected Gunmen on Monday evening attacked Ora, a community on the Osun–Kwara boundary, and abducted a retired Customs officer identified as, Emmanuel Owolabi.
According to residents who spoke with our correspondent, the kidnapping caused panic in the neighbourhood, with people running in all directions while the gunmen fled into the bush with the victim.
Titilayo, the victim’s wife, told newsmen that the incident happened just before 7 p.m. in front of Owolabi’s home on Akisa Road in Ora, Osun State.
Titilayo described the event, saying that her husband had been by her store soon after she had closed for the day.
She came home to make dinner while he went to another part of the town.
She claimed that she heard gunshots at their compound’s entrance after finishing the meal and waiting for her husband.
“When I closed my shop around 6:30 p.m., my husband came around and asked me to go home. When I got home, I cooked and was about to serve my children their food when I heard a gunshot.
“I initially thought the shots were from hunters who sometimes come around, but the gunshots became sporadic. Later, I heard my husband’s voice outside our fence,” she said.
She added, “I didn’t know he was being held by bandits. I went out to check what was happening.
“One of the gunmen jumped over the fence into our compound. Those I saw were young boys. I knelt down and spoke Hausa to him because they were speaking Hausa. Instead of responding, he started beating me.
“He asked me for money. While all this was going on, they were firing shots. The next thing I heard was the sound of a motorcycle conveying my husband towards the bush.
“The two gunmen in our compound then jumped over the fence into the bush and fled. My husband is a retired Customs officer. People should help us bring him back home safely,” Titilayo said.
According to local sources, a village head known only as Dennis was shot and killed by the gunmen as he fled the region after coming from his farm.
Abiodun Ojelabi, a spokeswoman for the Osun State Police Command, confirmed the event when reached on Tuesday.
However, Ojelabi claimed that more deployments had been made to scour the area’s bush.
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