The Ojibara of Bayagan in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Alhaji Kamilu Salami, has regained freedom after escaping from kidnappers who abducted him on Saturday morning while he was working on his farm.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the monarch escaped alongside six other abductees after local vigilante operatives launched a coordinated assault on the kidnappers deep inside the forest late Saturday.
A community source disclosed that the vigilante team traced the captors to the Eku Idaji forest axis, near Igbaja, where a fierce gun duel reportedly forced the bandits to abandon the victims.
“The vigilantes engaged them seriously. The pressure was too much, and the kidnappers had to flee. That was how Kabiyesi and the others managed to escape,” the source said.
Although the monarch and the other escapees had not physically returned to Bayagan as of press time, they had contacted family and community leaders to confirm their safety.
Alhaji Salami’s abduction earlier in the day had thrown Bayagan into panic. He was seized around 9:30 a.m. on his riverside farmland, after fellow farmers found his motorcycle abandoned and raised the alarm.
A farmer from a neighbouring village, who said he witnessed the incident while hiding in a guinea-corn farm, recounted that the gunmen “grabbed Kabiyesi, forced him onto a motorcycle and disappeared into the bush.”
The kidnappers were said to have demanded N150 million ransom before the vigilante operation disrupted their camp.
Community members told PLATFORM TIMES that they are anxiously awaiting the monarch’s arrival, while security personnel and hunters continue combing the forest to track down the fleeing kidnappers.
“We thank God he is alive. But we want security agencies to intensify the search and make arrests. This thing is happening too often,” a resident lamented.
The Kwara State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement as efforts to get its reaction were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
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