Gunmen have kidnapped a 60-year-old headmaster in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State and are demanding a N30 million ransom for his release.
The victim, Matthew Kolawale Owoade, popularly known as “Onaiye,” heads Nomadic Basic School in Igbojaye. He was abducted on Saturday evening between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. as he returned from his farm.
His son, Abiola Owoade, said armed men intercepted his father along the road and whisked him away. Shortly after, the kidnappers called the family from the victim’s phone and demanded N30,000,000 for his freedom.
A search team later recovered Owoade’s motorcycle, abandoned in a bush, at about 8:20 a.m. on Sunday.
The abduction has thrown Owoade’s family, colleagues and the wider education community in Itesiwaju into mourning. They have appealed to the Police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies to move swiftly and secure his unconditional release, and have called on members of the public to come forward with any information that could aid his rescue.
Confirming the incident, Oyo State Police spokesperson DSP Olayinka Ayanlade said efforts were underway to rescue the victim unhurt and arrest those responsible. “I can confirm to you that a farmer, Mr Owoade Mathew, was kidnapped at his farm in Budo Aare, and efforts are on to rescue the man unhurt and arrest the perpetrator,” he said.
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