The Catholic Archbishop of Ibadan Archdiocese, Most Reverend Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin, has revealed that millions of naira ransom was paid to secure the release of his niece who was abducted by kidnappers in Oke Ogun area of Oyo State.
Archbishop Abegunrin, who spoke while addressing a press conference after the plenary session of the Ibadan Provincial Catholic Bishops Conference at the Jubilee Conference Centre, Oke Ado, Ibadan last week, decried insecurity in the area, saying time has come for the state government to increase security presence.
Abegunrin said that his kidnapped niece spent five days in captivity until they were able to secure her release after paying millions of naira ransom.
According to Abegunrin, reports he received from his native Iwere-Ile, headquarters of Iwajowa Local Government Area of Oyo State, were that a man was kidnapped and k!lled, and that his brother who went to retrieve his corpse was also k!lled.
“My niece who was coming from Ibadan was kidnapped. She spent about five days before she was rescued with millions of naira. I also know another man who was kidnapped like that from our village. One was kidnapped and k!lled, the brother went to pick his corpse and they k!lled the brother again,” he said.
"They ran to town to go and call the soldiers who were at the checkpoint and the local security and the police, and they all went. They k!lled all those people, including the soldiers, the police and the local security. I was saying can the government not do something about that—can’t the government do something about incessant k!llings like that in a small village like Iwere-Ile?
"I can only point at Oke Ogun because I hear a lot of news from there because I am from there. People are afraid, some people even wanted to stop their children from going to school because they are not safe. I think the government should pay attention to that area. Many things are happening, and not only Oke Ogun.
"I think the governors should work hand in hand so that their hands can meet in creating security jointly so that the whole South West will be under protection. Our governors in the South West should work together really so that there will be no loopholes where these bandits can enter. I appeal for that.”
The Bishops denounced the resurgence of herdsmen attacks in the region and said they “must denounce the threat posed more recently by the resurgence of the menace of herdsmen attacks, kidnappings, robberies and other crimes in Yorubaland.”
In a communiqué by the Bishops of the Province and signed by their Chairman, Archbishop Abegunrin, and the Secretary, Most Reverend John Akin Oyejola, they called for efficient intelligence gathering, good remunerations and equipping of our security outfits and a determination to prosecute crime without favour as ways to curb the increasing crime in the region
The Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province, comprising Ibadan Archdiocese, Ilorin, Ondo Oyo, Ekiti and Osogbo Dioceses, noted that intelligence-gathering and other listed factors were “all necessary for the provision of security of life and property and must be pursued with single mindedness."