Mrs. Yetunde Ogunsakin, the widow of the late traditional ruler of Esun Ekiti, Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, has revealed the last request made by her husband before he was tragically killed by unknown assailants. Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers attacked the monarchs on the Ipao-Oke Ako Road, resulting in the deaths of Oba Olatunde Olusola, the Onimojo of Imojo, and Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, the Elesun of Esun Ekiti. Fortunately, the Alara of Ara Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Fatoba, managed to escape the ambush.
According to Mrs. Yetunde Ogunsakin, her husband had called her while on his way back home and requested that she prepare a meal for him as he was hungry. However, as time passed without his arrival, she grew anxious. The journey from Ajowa, where he had called from, to their residence should not have taken more than one hour. When she tried calling him after the expected time had elapsed, there was no response.
The incident is part of a disturbing trend of kidnappings and attacks across the country. In a separate incident, three police inspectors were kidnapped in the Ohoror community in Delta State, while the Oyo State Chairman of the Tipper, Lorry, and Quarry Park Management System, Alhaji Akeem Akintola, was also abducted. Additionally, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Abia State University, Uturu, Prof Godwin Emezue, was kidnapped from a petrol station in Umuahia South Local Government Area, Abia State.
Civil society groups, under the banner of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, disclosed that 17,469 Nigerians have been abducted from 2019 to the present under the administrations of Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu. The rising incidents of abductions and attacks underscore the security challenges facing the nation.