A member of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, identified as Daniel Adejuyigbe has been killed by bandits suspected to be kidnappers in Iju community, Akure North Local Government Area of the Ondo State.
The OPC member was killed while in pursuit of the bandits who had kidnapped a farmer, Solomon Akinmeji in the community.
The farmer was said to have been kidnapped in his farm at Okeji farm settlement in Atoka axis of Iju community which is a border town between Ondo State and Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
Speaking on the development, a youth leader in the town, Ayodeji Ogundeji said the bandits, whom he described as herdsmen on Saturday kidnapped the farmer which informed the decision of youths in the community and OPC members to organise a search party on Sunday to locate the abductee in the bush and set him free from his abductors.
While explaining that the search was not fruitful till Monday morning, Ogundeji disclosed that the incident was reported to a Police Division in the community and the Amotekun Corps who consequently joined in the search.
The youth leader added that the search for the missing farm owner continued on Tuesday morning, as the group numbering about thirty moved to the forest in batches, while the late Adejuyigbe headed to a separate direction to continue his search for the missing farmer.
Ogundeji noted that after the whole exercise, all search party members assembled but the late Adejuyigbe was not present, the development he explained made them intensify more efforts to look for him.
He explained that his dead body was later found in the forest where the bandits suspected to be herders erected an improvised tent with his legs and hands tied and eyes blindfolded.
“Daniel fell out of his search group by moving afar to locate the missing farm owner before he was abducted and shot dead by the herders.”
While adding that herdsmen have been terrorising the community for a long while, Ogundeji said the kidnapped farmer is still with his abductors while the remains of the late Adejuyigbe Daniel had been deposited at the morgue.
When contacted, the Police spokesperson in the state, ASP Tee-Leo Ikoro who confirmed the incident, said the Commissioner of Police in the State, Bolaji Salami, had ordered a manhunt for the fleeing bandits.
