Fear has gripped residents of Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State following the abduction of a 60-year-old school headmaster, Mr Matthew Kolawale Owoade, popularly known as “Onaiye”, by suspected kidnappers who are demanding a N30 million ransom for his release.
The victim, who heads the Nomadic Basic School, Igbojaye, was reportedly kidnapped on Saturday evening, July 11, between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., while returning home after visiting his farm in Budo Aare.
According to his son, Abiola Owoade, the gunmen intercepted his father on the way back from the farm before taking him to an unknown location. The kidnappers later contacted the family using the victim’s mobile phone and demanded N30 million as ransom.
Hope of tracing the abductors received a slight boost on Sunday morning when a search party reportedly discovered Mr Owoade’s abandoned motorcycle in a nearby bush at about 8:20 a.m., raising hopes that security operatives could gather vital clues to aid the rescue effort.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the local education community, with family members, colleagues and residents appealing to security agencies for urgent intervention. They called on the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other relevant authorities to intensify efforts to rescue the headmaster safely and bring those responsible to justice.
The family also appealed to members of the public to volunteer any useful information that could help security agencies locate the victim and secure his immediate release.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Oyo State Police Command, DSP Olayinka Ayanlade, said the command had commenced efforts to rescue the victim.
“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,” the police spokesperson said.
