Rescue team explores clues on hidden tunnels allegedly created by kidnappers
One week after theYoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho vowed to rescue victims of kidnapping in his hometown in Oyo State and led his team into the forest of Old Oyo National Park, KUNLE AKINRINADE reports that the operation has been dogged by frustration and controversy.
In the southwest, his name evokes valour in informal conversations about insecurity. He carries himself in public as a warlord fortified with supernatural power no one can neutralise. In recent past, he was reputed as the mercenary the Modakeke people relied on to overwhelm their Ife hosts in communal territorial clashes.
Yet, Yoruba Nation activist, Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, like a fearful warrior whose town was raided by foreign troops while he was on a mission to save other kingdoms, is now facing a litmus test to save kinsmen kidnapped by bandits in his hometown, Igboho, Oyo State.
In a video that gained traction online, Igboho, at the palace of Ona Onibode, Oba AbdulRasheed Adetoyese, gave a two-hour ultimatum for the release of the captives or prepare for a showdown over rising cases of abduction and insecurity. He claimed that some youths of the Fulani community were behind the abduction of three villagers at Igbope, on the outskirts of Igboho town, including a pregnant woman who was killed in captivity, while the person who took ransom to the kidnappers was also seized.
“The person who brought the ransom, you still killed him and spared only one person,” he said while warning that there must not be a repeat of the ugly incident.
“I am Sunday Igboho. I am calm because my fathers asked me to be calm with you. Let this be the last time such a thing will happen,” he warned, adding that he would not leave town until the captives were released.
He further threatened that failure to comply would lead to decisive action, including invading the hideouts of suspected kidnappers.
Shortly after the palace meeting, footage of jubilant residents and indigenes surfaced online suggesting that the captives had been released; an insinuation discountenanced by both the police and local government authorities.
Insiders linked Igboho’s remarks at the palace to his frustration at closing in on the kidnappers after he lost track of their whereabouts during tracking.
‘’The videos on alaye’s (Igboho’s) fury at the Fulani leaders emanated from his futile efforts to get the exact location of the kidnappers a day before the palace meeting. Specifically, he had led his tech-savvy team to trail the kidnappers by tracking them to several places on Friday June 19.
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‘’The kidnappers were tracked through their phone to Bode Wude, from where they moved their captives to the palace of a local chief at Bode Baani. And when they found that Igboho’s men were still on their trail, they moved the captives to an unknown location.
“Hence, Igboho held a meeting with the Fulani leaders at the monarch’s palace to compel them to call their youths who were fingered as the brains behind the abduction to release the victims within two hours; an ultimatum that has not yielded any positive result.
Shaped like a saxophone, the 2,512-square-kilometer forest of the Old Oyo National Park is named after Oyo-Ile, the ancient political capital of the Old Oyo Empire, containing fascinating historical ruins and archaeological artifacts.
The park is unique for its wildlife sanctuary and historical sites and spans 10 council areas including Oriire, Orelope, Irepo, Saki West, Saki East, Atisbo, Itesiwaju, Iseyin, Olorunsogo and Atiba in Oyo State and Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
It is surrounded by towns including Saki, Iseyin, Igboho and Igbeti, and stands as the relics of the Old Oyo Empire where the archeological and historical sites including the ruins of Koso town where rock stools on which Alaafin Sango sat to administer the empire, the ancient Koso defence walls and old Akesan Market, among others, are located.
Igboho’s hometown is one of the contiguous communities to the forest with outskirts such as Igbope where the kidnapping took place and Bode Bani, an Ibariba settlement, located along the southern/eastern boundary of the forest.
However, the main Bani, a mineral rich community is primarily located in the Kaiama Local Government Area, Kwara State, and directly borders the Old Oyo National Park. Bani, the mining corridor, well-known for lithium, straddles the border between Kwara and Oyo State.
The illegal mining and ore trading activities taking place in Bani directly spill over into nearby communities deep within the Oyo State boundaries, and this accounts for the influx of artisanal Fulani miners of different stocks and herders into the forest and adjoining communities, one of which is Igboho’s hometown.
Last weekend, Igboho moved into the forest with over 40 men shortly after he left the palace where he had confronted the local Fulani leaders. Sources said that his team was complemented by local hunters and vigilance groups that volunteered to participate in the rescue operation.
The team, according to insiders, is made up of security experts who combine digital technology and drones to carry out surveillance and scene mapping to search for the whereabouts of the captives and their abductors.
An insider said: ‘’The rescue team put together by Alaye (Sunday Igboho) is huge. The team is fortified with personnel that combines digital technology, mapping and drones to carry out aerial surveillance and intelligence gathering on the possible location or whereabouts of the abductors and captives.
“Apart from deploying 40 operatives of Iru Ekun, a security outfit he recently launched for the operation, many local hunters and members of the vigilance groups who volunteered were also part of Igboho’s team, bringing the total number of personnel to around 100.
“Alaye (Igboho) is camped in a hotel (name withheld) with his men. He leads his men into the forest daily and has been taking care of their feeding and accommodation while concerned indigenes and residents raise funds to take care of local hunters and vigilance groups supporting the search for the captives.’’
It was learnt that the dangerous nature of terrain of the thick forest makes it impossible for the team to camp there or stay back for 24 hours, hence Igboho’s decision to hibernate at a private hospitality facility in town.
“There are over 20,000 herders of different Fulani groups in the forest. The team encountered hundreds of these nomads who appeared harmless in the day but could become something else at night.
“Therefore, staying or camping in the thick forest is dangerous, as the team lacks basic operational logistics and equipment to protect personnel at night from wild animals.
“It is for this reason that Igboho has lodged the rescue team in a hotel for safety reasons.
‘’The team returned to town late Monday night. Yet, in the early hours of Tuesday, alaye (Igboho) hurriedly had a meal of pap at the front of the hotel and quickly led his team into the forest to continue the search.
“He has been an inspiration to his team because, despite his life of affluence, he is the one leading the rescue operation without the support of any tiers of government and security agencies,’’ a source said.
The operation, however, has been clogged by several frustration. An insider told our correspondent that despite the firmness or resolve to locate the kidnappers and rescue the captives, the deployment of aerial digital surveillance technology has not helped much.
“One of the main frustrations is the inability of the surveillance technology to locate the whereabouts of the gang. For instance, many times, the technology would zoom in on some suspected criminals using cattle as a shield, but they would disappear instantly to nowhere.
“Sometimes, while trailing some men in the bush, the footpath being tracked would suddenly peter out into a main road that leads to nowhere, and the suspects would disappear without a trace.”
He was also said to have been upset about a recent interview granted to an international news medium by a traditional ruler in his hometown, where the monarch’s remark suggested that the rescue efforts had not yielded fruit, Thea ransom of N150 million was still being demanded by the kidnappers.
An inside source said: “At a point on Monday, swathed by his boys, including one of his lieutenants called Danku, an angry Igboho was demoralised by a comment made by one of the traditional rulers in his hometown, whose remarks during an interview with an international media organisation he viewed as ‘not appreciative’ of his selfless rescue effort.
“He was particularly displeased that the traditional ruler’s remarks suggested that he had stormed the forest four times, without coming back with the captives.
“Igboho, however, said during a discussion with his men that he would not succumb to despondency in his bold resolve to rescue the victims and save his kinsmen from the grips of rampaging kidnappers.
“He has visited the neighbouring Kishi and Igbeti towns, where the kidnappers were initially tracked to its outskirts called Bani.”
A source said Igboho has vowed not to leave his hometown until the captives are rescued. He left his hotel base for the forest with his men in the wee hours of today (Tuesday June 23).
‘’It is a shame that there is no presence of security agents in the forefront to track the criminals, yet, the police was quick to react to a hoax about the release of the captives denouncing Chief Igboho’s intervention.’’
The source however, noted the possibility of the kidnappers using a tunnel in the forest to shield themselves from the rescue team, and move their victims away from the vicinity.
‘’The team is currently working to unravel the lead that bandits may have dug a tunnel in the forest to escape the prying eyes of rescue team members and security agents.
“Several times when movements on footpaths in the bush were sighted by surveillance drones, the fleeing men suddenly disappeared, and they were never found during combing by operatives.
“Clues have been obtained, but I cannot give you the details because of the sensitive nature of the information. But the team is pursuing the lead to uncover escape routes and tunnels built by kidnappers inside the forest.
“Perhaps uncovering the escape tunnels could unravel the whereabouts of the victims and their abductors.’’
Controversy Over Igboho’s Alleged Invitation
Speaking at the palace of Ona Onibode, Oba AbdulRasheed Adetoyese, during his meeting with Fulani leaders, Chief Igboho, in a video posted online, explained that his intervention was in response to the request by the monarch to help rescue the victims. “Although, I am aware of the abduction, I did not visit this town or intervene because I was not invited.
“But when my monarch sent words to me asking for my intervention, I had no choice but to come and intervene,’’ Igboho said.
Some indigenes of the town, however, dismiss his assertion, saying that the monarch never invited him and that he only responded to a flurry of call-out posts online by a group of concerned indigenes, who accused him of fighting insecurity in other places while neglecting his own hometown.
An indigene, Ademola Olanipekun, said: “Let us set the records straight: Sunday Igboho needed no invitation or permission to intervene, and no one invited him to do so.
We the sons and daughters of Igboho called him out on social media because it would have been a shame for his hometown to be under attack while he stood by and did nothing.
“I am aware that social media warriors such as Oyebisi Jamiu Tunde, Jayeola Ridwan Obafemi Ridwan Olamilekan, Astute Korede, Ọlakulẹhin Nurudeen and many others too numerous to mention raised their voices and demanded action from him, using the power of Social media.
“To his credit, Chief Sunday Igboho, who is nicknamed after our hometown, rose to the occasion and did what any responsible son of the soil would do.
“He answered the call of duty, stood up for his people, and took steps to defend his hometown when it came under threat.
“For that, he deserves appreciation and commendation.
‘’The logic is simple: does anyone need permission or an invitation to defend their own house against intruders? Certainly not.
“The Ogbomoso kidnapping situation is an entirely different matter. In that case, some may argue that he is an outsider and should wait to be invited or consulted before getting involved.
“But when it comes to Igboho, no such argument applies. Igboho is his home. And when your own community is under threat, you do not wait for an invitation before acting to protect it.
“You rise to the challenge, defend your people, and safeguard your heritage. That is exactly what Sunday Igboho did.
“We appreciate him for rising to the occasion and giving the local hunters and defenders the necessary impetus at a critical moment.
“The record should therefore reflect the truth: he was not invited, he did not need permission, and he simply fulfilled his responsibility as a son of Igboho.’’
Another indigene, identified simply as Oyebisi, also said that Igboho was not invited by the monarch but voluntarily intervened following social media posts by concerned indigenes.
Oyebisi said: “I am speaking from a position of knowledge: there was no such thing as a royal invitation. Igboho was not invited by any traditional ruler.
“What I can say is that the meeting between some Fulani leaders and one of the town’s traditional rulers was not friendly and coincidental. In fact, he was already in the forest a day before that meeting took place.
‘’There are several sensitive details surrounding that traditional ruler’s meeting with a section of Fulani leaders held at the palace of the Ona Onibode of Igboho, Oba AbdulRasheed Adetoyese, which are best left out of public discourse for now.
“Those who are fully informed understand that there is much more to the story than what is being circulated publicly.’’
He added: ‘’The forest of the Old Oyo National Park extends beyond Esiele in Ogbomosho up to Niger State.
“The Yoruba heritage and relics of the old Oyo Kingdom tucked in the forest have been abandoned for Fulani herdsmen and kidnappers to destroy and mess up.
“The last time I visited the forest, I shed tears when I saw some of the heritage sites, including the rocks that served as a stool for Alaafin Sango, the ruins of Koso town, Akesan Market and the city’s wall decrepit and abandoned.
‘’There are thousands of herdsmen and non-state actors governing the forest. Unlike a similar park in Bauchi that was taken over by the Federal Government, Oyo National Park has been abandoned and left at the mercy of herdsmen and criminals to roam free.
“While forest guards are quick to arrest poachers and illegal tree cutters, they falter when it comes to arresting criminals using the forest as a shield for their nefarious mission.’’
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government imposed curfew on 10 local government areas surrounding the Old Oyo National Park amid rising insecurity and criminal activities.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, the curfew would take effect from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., beginning on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, and would remain in force for the next 48 hours in the first instance.
According to Oyelade, the curfew was part of the state government’s efforts to tackle kidnapping and other security challenges in communities located around the Old Oyo National Park.
‘’The affected local government areas are Oriire (headquarters: Ikoyi-Ile), Orelope (headquarters: Igboho), Irepo (headquarters: Kisi), Saki West (headquarters: Saki), Saki East (headquarters: Ago-Amodu), Atisbo (headquarters: Tede/Ago-Are), Itesiwaju (headquarters: Otu), Iseyin (headquarters: Iseyin), Olorunsogo (headquarters: Igbeti), and Atiba (headquarters: Offa-Meta, Oyo),’’ the statement said.
Though, the curfew has been relaxed just yesterday.
Source: TheNation
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