The Eze Ndigbo of Ifon, Donatus Okereke, who was abducted by some gunmen, has been released.
His release coincides with the first anniversary of the death of the Olufon of Ifon, the late Oba Israel Adeusi, who was shot dead by some gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on November 26, 2020, at Elegbeka Village, a suburb of Ifon.
Okereke disclosed he was kidnapped by four Fulani persons, one of whom was in an army uniform. They demanded N100 million ransom, but eventually negotiated to N20million.
He disclosed that his family paid an undisclosed amount of money to his abductors before releasing him after spending five days in their den.
Addressing newsmen at a press conference sponsored by Ifon Omima Improvement Forum, at Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State on Friday, Dr. Olufemi Awani, the Ogwadogbon of Ifon and president of Ifon Development Union, declared that the people of the kingdom were facing serious security challenges.
He disclosed that the people of the town were worried because the killers of the late first-class monarch had not been arrested by the Police a year after.
According to him, “We as a people have come to accept the inevitability of death as the way of all mortals, but there remains throbbing pain in our hearts: who killed the Olufon?”
He agreed that unveiling such an incident could be painstaking, “but the stoical silence from all quarters on the matter over the past year is very worrisome and distressing, to say the least.”
Dr. Awani, who expressed confidence in the capability of security agencies, particularly the police, to unravel the mystery if properly addressed, said: “We demand justice in this matter, but then, justice delayed is justice denied.
“We as a people on this first anniversary are again making this clarion call to government at all levels and their security agencies, in particular, to step up efforts at bringing the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book.”
He disclosed that the people have been supporting security agencies through the voluntary provision of logistics to them.
Dr. Awani disclosed that the residents could not sleep with both eyes closed, adding that apprehending the killers of the late monarch and bringing them to justice would definitely assuage some of the pains, enhance the healing process, and also serve as a deterrent to other criminally minded people in the society at large.
He recalled that a stalwart of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dele Isibor was shot dead on Ifon-Imoru Road and the Eze Ndigbo of Ifon was also abducted by gunmen on Monday, November 22, 2021, in the town.
