ESTHER ODUNAYO
Residents of Ode-Irele are still at a loss about the whereabouts of a 300-Level Computer Engineering student of Al-Hikmah University, Igbaja, Kwara State, Akindoyo Gideon.
The 30-year-old man travelled home to visit his parents in Ode Irele, Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State to get foodstuffs and money before returning to school.
He was said to have gone to his parents’ farm at Lumeko village on his motorbike on Monday, June 11, 2024 to harvest cassava, but he has not returned from the farm ever since.
Lumeko village is located between Igbobini and Ode Irele communities in Ese Odo Local Government and Irele Local Government respectively.
Gideon’s family and friends are gripped with fear when they saw his motorbike where he parked it to harvest cassava, but he was not seen on the farm.
Kidnap suspicion is rife in the community due to the existing communal face-off between Igbobini and Ode-Irele.
A statement by the Senate Secretariat of National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS) signed by its leader, Henry Okunomo, called on security agencies in the state, as a matter urgency, search for the missing student.
The students union suspected he must have been kidnapped as a result of the lingering communal crisis between Irele and Igbobini communities.
The students called on the traditional leaders of the two communities to produce the missing student dead or alive .
The statement reads in parts: “According to information gathered from the National President of Irele Local Government Students and a community leader, Dr. Adekugbe Erik, the student had travelled home to gather foodstuffs from his community, only to be abducted while working on his father’s farm.
“The community leader reported that the student’s disappearance coincided with an attack by the Igbobini community, resulting in destroyed homes and properties.
“We categorically demand that the leadership of both Irele and Igbobini communities produce the student, either dead or alive, within the next 72 hours, failure to do so will compel us to relocate the NANS secretariat to the affected communities, where we will remain until the student’s safe return is secured.”
Moreover, the students called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to intervene and employ all necessary measures to resolve the lingering crisis between the two communities, declaring that, “the safety and security of our members are non-negotiable, and we will not hesitate to take drastic action if our demands are not met.”
Meanwhile, Gideon’s mother, Mrs. Janet Akindoyo said her son arrived at home on June 10, 2024 and went to the farm the following day.
She explained that “He has not returned, search party saw his motorcycle where he parked it, but we haven’t seen him. I’m appealing to the security and the people to help find him.”
Spokesperson to the state Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, a Superintendent of Police(SP) confirmed the incident.
She said: “Our men are working in the forest in search of the person and investigation into the matter had begun.”
