Gunmen ∆bduct Four Cocoa Farmers At Research Institute In Ibadan

Gunmen Abduct Four Cocoa Farmers At Research Institute In Ibadan

The victims were said to have been on a familiarisation visit to the institute when the attack occurred.

Gunmen who reportedly emerged suddenly from a nearby bush on Wednesday abducted four cocoa farmers at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria in the Idi-Ayunre area of Ibadan, Oyo State.

The victims were said to have been on a familiarisation visit to the institute when the attack occurred.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a cocoa farmer who escaped the incident recounted that the assailants “suddenly appeared from the bush and intercepted our vehicle” as they were heading to the Nursing Section within the facility.

According to the account, the attackers, numbering about six, ambushed the group without warning, causing panic before whisking away four of the occupants to an unknown destination.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka, said in a text message to NAN on Wednesday that one of the kidnapped victims had been rescued, while the victim’s vehicle had also been recovered.

Olayinka added that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Femi Haruna, had ordered an immediate response, directing the Anti-Kidnapping Unit alongside other tactical teams to support the Divisional Police Officer in Idi-Ayunre.

He said operatives had since launched “an intensive bush combing operation,” noting that the rescued victim was in safe custody and undergoing debriefing.

“Efforts are on to rescue the remaining victims and arrest the perpetrators,” he stated.

Oyo State has recently witnessed a surge in kidnapping incidents, prompting protests from concerned residents.

On Wednesday, the Oyo State Police Command announced the re-arrest of a suspected kidnapper who had previously escaped custody, an event that had sparked public outrage and demonstrations across the state.

In a statement, the Command identified the suspect as Ayomide Kareem, who was apprehended on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at approximately 11:30 p.m. by operatives of the Ojongbodu Area Command during a routine stop-and-search patrol at Irepo Junction in the Ojongbodu area of Oyo.

According to the police, the suspect was intercepted while “trekking within the vicinity” and was immediately stopped for questioning.

“Upon interrogation, he was identified as one Ayomide Kareem, male, aged 25 years, of Osorun’s Compound, Oyo,” the statement said.

The Command added that further checks confirmed Kareem was “the same suspect who had earlier escaped from police custody at Jobele Division on the 10th of March, 2026 in connection with a case of suspected kidnapping.”

Police authorities confirmed that the suspect had been taken into custody and was “assisting the police with ongoing investigations.”