Gunmen kidnap Kwara monarch, son, shoot spouse

Concern has gripped the Aafin neighborhood within the Ile Ere district of the Ifelodun Native Authorities Space of Kwara State following the reported abduction of the standard ruler, Oba Simeon Olaonipekun.

Oba Olaonipekun was kidnapped together with one among his sons, Olaolu, throughout an assault on his palace on Wednesday.

The assault, which occurred round 8:00 p.m., was mentioned to have been carried out by about eight armed males who stormed the palace, taking pictures indiscriminately earlier than forcing their method into the constructing.

A household supply who was current on the palace through the incident mentioned that the assailants appeared to have come particularly for the monarch and his spouse.

“I observed some unusual actions outdoors round 8:00 p.m. and instantly alerted these inside. We started locking doorways and switching off lights, however as soon as they realised this, they began taking pictures,” the supply mentioned.

In line with the resident, the gunmen broke down the palace doorways with their weapons and demanded to see the Kabiyesi.

“They gained entrance and requested the Kabiesi, and he got here out. They have been additionally asking for his spouse, Felicia Olaonipekun, however she had already been hit by a bullet within the arm,” the supply mentioned, including that Olaolu, one of many monarch’s sons who’s presently present process his Nationwide Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, was additionally seized after popping out of hiding.

“There have been about 10 of us within the palace on the time, as we had come to spend the vacation with Kabiesi.

“Everybody was hiding through the assault. After they left, we rushed the Olori to the hospital that very same night time,” the supply revealed.

Our correspondent additionally learnt that the neighborhood vigilante group couldn’t repel the attackers, as solely two members have been on obligation and have been overpowered by the gunmen’s superior firepower.

“The vigilantes couldn’t do a lot as a result of they have been simply two on obligation. The chief of the attackers spoke excellent English, and so they got here straight to the palace.

“They didn’t assault every other place within the city,” the supply added.

The incident was mentioned to have been reported to a number of police formations, together with the Owu Isin and Ijara Isin divisions, in addition to the joint native safety community in Ikosin, whereas neighbouring conventional rulers have been additionally alerted.

As of the time of submitting this report, there was no official data on contact with the abductors, whereas the neighborhood appealed to the state authorities and safety companies to accentuate efforts to safe the protected launch of the monarch and his son.

The kidnapping got here lower than a month after the Ojibara of Bayagan Ile, Kamilu Salami, who was kidnapped by gunmen on his farm within the LGA.