By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Oyo State Police Command has commenced a comprehensive investigation and launched an intensive joint security operation aimed at securing the safe rescue of an abducted farmer, Mr. Owoade Mathew, while trailing his captors.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim, a resident of Igbojaye community, had gone to his farm along the Igbojaye–Budo Aare Farm Road at about 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, 2026, but failed to return home.
A search party organized by his family later recovered his Bajaj motorcycle at the farm in the early hours of Sunday.
Shortly thereafter, the victim’s mobile phone was used to contact his family by a caller who informed them of the abduction, which prompted a distress report to the Officer-in-Charge of Igbojaye Police Outpost at about 9:50 a.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2026.
Reacting to speculation surrounding the incident, the Command clarified that, contrary to inaccurate reports circulating in some sections of the media, the victim was abducted while on his farm and not within the premises of any school.
Members of the public were therefore urged to “disregard the misleading reports and rely only on information disseminated through official channels of the Oyo State Police Command.”
Upon receiving the report, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, CP Abimbola Olugbenga, immediately directed the deployment of a coordinated joint rescue team to the area.
The team, comprising Police operatives, personnel of the Amotekun Corps, local vigilantes, and hunters, immediately commenced an intensive combing of the surrounding forests. The operation has since been reinforced by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad and other tactical teams working to ensure the victim’s safe return.
In a statement signed on Monday, July 13, 2026, by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, the Commissioner of Police assured the people of the state that the command “remains resolute in its determination to rid the State of kidnapping and other violent crimes.”
The CP further urged residents to remain calm and vigilant, while assuring the public that “every available operational and intelligence resource is being deployed to ensure a successful outcome.”
